Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

6 Months Ended

Jun. 30, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP and include the financial statements of RespireRx and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Pier and ResolutionRx. Intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions. These estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates include, among other things, accounting for potential liabilities, and the assumptions used in valuing stock-based compensation issued for services. Actual amounts may differ from those estimates.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company limits its exposure to credit risk by investing its cash with high quality financial institutions. The Company’s cash balances may periodically exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced a loss in such accounts to date.

Value of Financial Instruments

The authoritative guidance with respect to value of financial instruments established a value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure value into three levels and requires that assets and liabilities carried at value be classified and disclosed in one of three categories, as presented below. Disclosure as to transfers into and out of Levels 1 and 2, and activity in Level 3 value measurements, is also required.

Level 1. Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for an identical asset or liability that the Company has the ability to access as of the measurement date. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 1 inputs include active-exchange traded securities and exchange-based derivatives.

Level 2. Inputs, other than quoted prices included within Level 1, which are directly observable for the asset or liability or indirectly observable through corroboration with observable market data. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 2 inputs include fixed income securities, non-exchange based derivatives, mutual funds, and fair-value hedges.

Level 3. Unobservable inputs in which there is little or no market data for the asset or liability which requires the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions. Financial assets and liabilities utilizing Level 3 inputs include infrequently traded, non-exchange based derivatives and commingled investment funds, and are measured using present value pricing models.

The Company determines the level in the value hierarchy within which each value measurement falls in its entirety, based on the lowest level input that is significant to the value measurement in its entirety. In determining the appropriate levels, the Company performs an analysis of the assets and liabilities at each reporting period end.

The carrying amounts of financial instruments (consisting of cash, cash equivalents, and accounts payable and accrued expenses) are considered by the Company to be representative of the respective values of these instruments due to the short-term nature of those instruments. With respect to the note payable to SY Corporation Co., Ltd. (“SY Corporation”) and the convertible notes payable, management does not believe that the credit markets have materially changed for these types of borrowings since the original borrowing date for companies like the Company. The Company considers the carrying amounts of the notes payable to officers, inclusive of accrued interest, to be representative of the respective values of such instruments due to the short-term nature of those instruments and their terms.

Deferred Financing Costs

Costs incurred in connection with ongoing debt and equity financings, including legal fees, are deferred until the related financing is either completed or abandoned or is unlikely to be completed.

Costs related to abandoned debt or equity financings are charged to operations in the period of abandonment. Costs related to completed equity financings are netted against the proceeds.

Capitalized Financing Costs

The Company presents debt issuance costs related to debt obligations in its condensed consolidated balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt obligation, consistent with the presentation for debt discounts.

Convertible Notes Payable

Convertible notes are evaluated to determine if they should be recorded at amortized cost. To the extent that there are associated warrants or commitment shares of Common Stock, the convertible notes and equity or equity-linked securities are evaluated to determine if there are embedded derivatives to be identified, bifurcated and valued in connection with and at the time of such financing.

Debt and Other Liability Exchanges

In cases where debt or other liabilities are exchanged for equity, the Company compares the carrying value of debt, inclusive of accrued interest, if applicable, being exchanged, to the fair value of the equity issued and records any loss or gain as a result of such exchange. See Note 4. Notes Payable.

Extinguishment of Debt and Settlement of Liabilities

The Company accounts for the extinguishment of debt and settlement of liabilities by comparing the carrying value of the debt or liability to the value of consideration paid or assets given up and recognizing a loss or gain in the condensed consolidated statement of operations in the amount of the difference in the period in which such transaction occurs.

Prepaid Insurance

Prepaid insurance represents the premium that was due in March 2023 for directors and officers insurance. The amounts of prepaid insurance amortizable in the ensuing twelve-month period are recorded as prepaid insurance in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet at each reporting date and amortized to the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations for each reporting period.

Stock-Based Awards

The Company periodically issues common stock and stock options and phantom stock (collectively, “Stock-Based Awards”) to officers, directors, Scientific Advisory Board members, consultants and other vendors for services rendered. Such issuances vest and expire according to terms established at the issuance date of each grant.

The Company accounts for stock-based payments to officers and directors, outside consultants and vendors by measuring the cost of services received in exchange for equity awards based on the grant date fair value of the awards, with the cost recognized as compensation expense on the straight-line basis in the Company’s consolidated or condensed consolidated financial statements, as appropriate, over the vesting period of the awards.

Stock grants, which are sometimes subject to time-based vesting, are measured at the grant date fair value of the common stock and charged to operations ratably over the vesting period.

Stock options granted to members of the Company’s outside consultants and other vendors are valued on the grant date. As the stock options vest, the Company recognizes this expense over the period in which the services are provided.

The value of stock options granted as stock-based compensation is determined utilizing the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, and is affected by several variables, the most significant of which are the life of the equity award, the exercise price of the stock option as compared to the fair value of the common stock on the grant date, and the estimated volatility of the common stock over the estimated life of the equity award. Estimated volatility is based on the historical volatility of the Company’s common stock. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The fair value of common stock is determined by reference to the quoted market price of the Company’s common stock.

Stock options and warrants issued to non-employees as compensation for services to be provided to the Company or in settlement of debt are accounted for based upon the fair value of the services provided or the estimated fair value of the stock option or warrant, whichever can be more clearly determined. Management uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair value of the stock options and warrants issued by the Company. The Company recognizes this expense over the period in which the services are provided.

Phantom stock awards, which are sometimes subject to time-based vesting, are measured at the award date fair value, if measurable. As the phantom stock awards vest, the Company recognizes the expense, if measurable, upon vesting. To the extent that the value of phantom stock awards is not measurable on the award date, measurement only being possible on the satisfaction of certain contingent events that may not be predictable and measurable at the time of the award, the Company recognizes the expense as a change in an estimate as of the date on which the contingent event becomes predictable and measurable.

The Company recognizes the value of stock-based payments in general and administrative costs and in research and development costs, as appropriate, in the Company’s consolidated or condensed consolidated statements of operations, as appropriate. The Company issues new shares of Common Stock to satisfy stock option and warrant exercises.

There were no stock or stock option grants during the three-months or six-months ended June 30, 2023.

There were no stock options exercised during the three-months or six months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022.

There were no warrants issued as compensation or for services during the three-months and six-months ended June 30, 2023 and 2022. There were warrants exercisable into 83,333,333 shares of the RespireRx’s Common Stock issued on May 22, 2023 with respect to the issuance of $250,000 of demand promissory notes to an affiliate of an officer and another affiliate. Warrants, if issued for services, are typically issued to placement agents or brokers for fund raising services, or to lenders, and are not issued from any of the Company’s stock and option plans, from which options issued to non-employees for services are typically issued.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes under an asset and liability approach for financial accounting and reporting for income taxes. Accordingly, the Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected impact of differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities.

The Company records a valuation allowance to reduce its deferred tax assets to the amount that is more likely than not to be realized. In the event the Company was to determine that it would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of its recorded amount, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be credited to operations in the period such determination was made. Likewise, should the Company determine that it would not be able to realize all or part of its deferred tax assets in the future, an adjustment to the deferred tax assets would be charged to operations in the period such determination was made.

Pursuant to Internal Revenue Code Sections 382 and 383, use of the Company’s net operating loss and credit carryforwards may be limited if a cumulative change in ownership of more than 50% occurs within any three-year period since the last ownership change. The Company may have had a change in control under these Sections. However, the Company does not anticipate performing a complete analysis of the limitation on the annual use of the net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards until the time that it anticipates it will be able to utilize these tax attributes.

As of June 30, 2023, the Company did not have any unrecognized tax benefits related to various federal and state income tax matters and does not anticipate any material amount of unrecognized tax benefits within the next 12 months.

The Company is subject to U.S. federal income taxes and income taxes of various state tax jurisdictions. As the Company’s net operating losses have yet to be utilized, all previous tax years remain open to examination by Federal authorities and other jurisdictions in which the Company currently operates or has operated in the past.

The Company accounts for uncertainties in income tax law under a comprehensive model for the financial statement recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of uncertain tax positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns as prescribed by GAAP. The tax effects of a position are recognized only if it is “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained by the taxing authority as of the reporting date. If the tax position is not considered “more-likely-than-not” to be sustained, then no benefits of the position are recognized. As of June 30, 2023, the Company had not recorded any liability for uncertain tax positions. In subsequent periods, any interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions will be recognized as a component of income tax expense.

Foreign Currency Transactions

The note payable to SY Corporation, which is denominated in a foreign currency (the South Korean Won), is translated into the Company’s functional currency (the United States Dollar) at the exchange rate on the balance sheet date. The accounts for ResolutionRx are maintained in Australian dollars and are converted to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate on the balance sheet. In both cases, the foreign currency exchange gain or loss resulting from translation is recognized in the related condensed consolidated statements of operations.

Research and Development

Research and development costs include compensation paid to management directing RespireRx’s research and development activities, including but not limited to compensation paid to our Chief Scientific Officer who is also our Executive Chairman, our Interim President and our Interim Chief Executive Officer and who has similar roles at ResolutionRx, and fees paid to consultants and outside service providers and organizations (including research institutes at universities), and other expenses relating to the acquisition, design, development and clinical testing of the Company’s treatments and product candidates.

License Agreements

Obligations incurred with respect to mandatory payments provided for in license agreements are recognized ratably over the appropriate term, as specified in the underlying license agreement, and are recorded as liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet, with a corresponding charge to research and development costs in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations. Obligations incurred with respect to milestone payments provided for in license agreements are recognized when it is probable that such milestone will be reached and are recorded as liabilities in the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet, with a corresponding charge to research and development expenses in the Company’s condensed consolidated statement of operations.

Patent Costs

Due to the significant uncertainty associated with the successful development of one or more commercially viable products based on the Company’s research efforts and any related patent applications, all patent costs, including patent-related legal and filing fees, are expensed as incurred and recorded as general and administrative expenses.

Earnings per Share

The Company’s computation of earnings per share (“EPS”) includes basic and diluted EPS. Basic EPS is measured as the income (loss) attributable to common stockholders divided by the weighted average common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted EPS is similar to basic EPS but presents the dilutive effect on a per share basis of potential common shares (e.g., warrants and options) as if they had been converted at the beginning of the periods presented, or issuance date, if later. Potential common shares that have an anti-dilutive effect (i.e., those that increase income per share or decrease loss per share) are excluded from the calculation of diluted EPS.

Net loss attributable to common stockholders consists of net loss, as adjusted for actual and deemed preferred stock dividends declared, amortized or accumulated. 

Net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the respective periods. Basic and diluted loss per common share is the same for all periods presented because all warrants and stock options outstanding are anti-dilutive.

At June 30, 2023 and 2022 the Company excluded the outstanding securities summarized below, which entitle the holders thereof to acquire shares of common stock, from its calculation of earnings per share, as their effect would have been anti-dilutive.

	June 30,
	2023		2022
Series B convertible preferred stock		1		1
Convertible notes payable		660,982,775		83,699,516
Common stock warrants		453,192,635		93,310,598
Common stock options		9,168,317		9,221,445
Total		1,123,343,728		186,231,560

Reclassifications

Certain comparative figures in 2022 have been reclassified to conform to the current quarter’s presentation. These reclassifications were immaterial, both individually and in the aggregate.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2020-06, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40). The subtitle is Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity. This Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) addresses complex financial instruments that have characteristics of both debt and equity. The application of this ASU would reduce the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. Limiting the accounting models would result in fewer embedded conversion features being separately recognized from the host contract as compared with current GAAP. Convertible instruments that continue to be subject to separation models are (1) those with embedded conversion features that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, that meet the definition of a derivative, and that do not qualify for a scope exception from derivative accounting and (2) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in capital. The Company has historically issued complex financial instruments and has considered whether embedded conversion features have existed within those contracts or whether derivatives would appropriately be bifurcated. To date, no such bifurcation has been necessary. Management has evaluated the potential impact and has early adopted this ASU as of January 1, 2022. Management believes the adoption has simplified the accounting for convertible debt instruments and does not believe adoption has had a substantial impact on the financial statements, however, it is possible that this ASU may have a substantial impact on the Company’s financial statements from future convertible debt or preferred stock financings.