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Summary of significant accounting policies (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2014
Summary of significant accounting policies  
Basis of presentation

 

Basis of presentation

          The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the Company's financial position for the periods presented.

Use of estimates

 

Use of estimates

          The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and 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. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Consolidation

 

Consolidation

          The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. and our wholly owned subsidiaries. All inter-company accounts, transactions, and profits have been eliminated in consolidation.

Segment and geographic information

 

Segment and geographic information

          Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating and reporting segment.

Cash equivalents

 

Cash equivalents

          The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of 90 days or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are carried at cost which approximates fair value due to their short-term nature.

Marketable securities

 

Marketable securities

          The Company considers securities with original maturities of greater than 90 days to be available for sale securities. Securities under this classification are recorded at fair value and unrealized gains and losses within accumulated other comprehensive income. The estimated fair value of the available for sale securities is determined based on quoted market prices or rates for similar instruments. In addition, the cost of debt securities in this category is adjusted for amortization of premium and accretion of discount to maturity. The Company evaluates securities with unrealized losses to determine whether such losses, if any, are other than temporary.

Fixed assets

 

Fixed assets

          Fixed assets are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed starting when the asset is placed into service on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful life of the related asset as follows:

                                                                                                                                                                                    

Leasehold improvements

 

Lesser of useful life or lease term

Computer equipment and software

 

3 years

Furniture, fixtures, and lab equipment

 

3 to 7 years

 

Concentration of credit risks

Concentration of credit risk

          The Company's financial instruments that are exposed to credit risks consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, available-for-sale marketable securities and accounts receivable. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalents in bank accounts, which, at times, exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any credit losses in these accounts and does not believe it is exposed to any significant credit risk on these funds. The Company's investment policy includes guidelines on the quality of the financial institutions and financial instruments the Company is allowed to invest in, which the Company believes minimizes the exposure to concentration of credit risk.

          The Company is subject to credit risk from its accounts receivable related to its product sales revenue of Translarna. The payment terms are predetermined and the Company evaluates the creditworthiness of each customer or distributor on a regular basis. The Company periodically assesses the financial strength of the holders of its accounts receivable to establish allowances for anticipated losses, if necessary. The Company reserves all uninsured amounts billed directly to a patient until the time of cash receipt as collectability is not reasonably assured at the time the product is received. To date, the Company has not incurred any credit losses.

Inventories and cost of product revenue

 

Inventories and cost of product revenue

          On August 4, 2014, the Company was notified that the European Commission, or EC, granted conditional marketing authorization for Translarna for the treatment of Duchenne muscular dystrophy caused by nonsense mutations, or nmDMD, in ambulatory patients aged five years and older. The conditional marketing authorization allows the Company to market Translarna in the European Economic Area, or EEA, which is comprised of the 28 member states of the European Union plus Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The conditional marketing authorization is subject to an annual review by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, and the Company will seek to renew the approval on an annual basis until the Company's obligations have been fulfilled and the approval is converted from a conditional approval into a full approval. The launch in these countries is on a country by country basis. The Company does do not have sufficient history or experience from which to accurately forecast product sales or demand generation. As such, the Company has not capitalized inventory and will not capitalize inventory until full approval has been obtained or until the Company can reasonably predict future product sales. The costs incurred related to the manufacturing of Translarna have been recorded as research and development expense in the statements of operations. The Company's cost of product sales includes royalties and other miscellaneous selling costs, which were not material for the year ended 2014 and therefore included as a component of research and development costs in the current year presentation. The time period over which this inventory is consumed will depend on a number of factors, including the amount of future Translarna sales, and the ability to utilize inventory prior to its expiration date.

Deferred rent

 

Deferred rent

          The Company has an operating lease for office space. Rent expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the initial lease term. The difference between the actual cash paid and the straight-line rent expense is recorded as deferred rent. Leasehold improvements made related to this lease, subsequent to its inception, are amortized over the remaining lease term.

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

 

Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss)

          Accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) consists of unrealized gains or losses on marketable securities and foreign currency translation adjustments.

Revenue recognition

 

Revenue recognition

          The Company recognizes revenue when amounts are realized or realizable and earned. Revenue is considered realizable and earned when the following criteria are met: (1) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (2) delivery has occurred or services have been rendered; (3) the price is fixed or determinable; and (4) collection of the amounts due are reasonably assured.

Net Product Sales

          PTC's net product sales have consisted solely of sales of Translarna for the treatment of DMD caused by nonsense mutations. The Company applies the revenue recognition guidance in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Subtopic 605-15, Revenue Recognition—Products. The Company recognizes revenue from product sales when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, title to product and associated risk of loss has passed to the customer, the price is fixed or determinable, collectability is reasonably assured and the Company has no further performance obligations.

          The Company has recorded revenue on sales where Translarna is available on a reimbursed early access program and typically paid for by a government authority or institution. The Company generally recognizes revenue for these named patient or cohort early access programs on a cash basis if all other revenue recognition criteria have been met. Once the Company has established a pattern of collectability, revenue will be recorded upon shipment assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

          The Company records revenue net of estimated discounts and rebates. Allowances are recorded as a reduction of revenue at the time revenues from product sales are recognized. Allowances for government rebates and discounts are established at the time of delivery. These allowances are adjusted to reflect known changes in factors and may impact such allowances in the quarter those changes are known.

Collaboration and Grant Revenue

          The terms of these agreements typically include payments to the Company of one or more of the following: nonrefundable, upfront license fees; milestone payments; research funding and royalties on future product sales. In addition, the Company generates service revenue through agreements that generally provide for fees for research and development services and may include additional payments upon achievement of specified events.

          The Company evaluates all contingent consideration earned, such as a milestone payment, using the criteria as provided by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), guidance on the milestone method of revenue recognition. At the inception of a collaboration arrangement, the Company evaluates if milestone payments are substantive. The criteria requires that (1) the Company determines if the milestone is commensurate with either its performance to achieve the milestone or the enhancement of value resulting from our activities to achieve the milestone; (2) the milestone be related to past performance; and (3) the milestone be reasonable relative to all deliverable and payment terms of the collaboration arrangement. If these criteria are met then the contingent milestones can be considered as substantive milestones and will be recognized as revenue in the period that the milestone is achieved. The Company recognizes royalties as earned in accordance with the terms of various research and collaboration agreements. If not substantive, the contingent consideration is allocated to the existing units of accounting based on relative selling price and recognized following the same basis previously established for the associated unit of accounting.

          The Company recognizes revenue for reimbursements of research and development costs under collaboration agreements as the services are performed. The Company records these reimbursements as revenue and not as a reduction of research and development expenses as the Company has the risks and rewards as the principal in the research and development activities.

Research and development costs

 

Research and development costs

          Research and development expenses include the clinical development costs associated with the Company's product development programs and research and development costs associated with the Company's discovery programs. These expenses include internal research and development costs and the costs of research and development conducted on behalf of the Company by third parties, including sponsored university-based research agreements and clinical study vendors. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses are charged immediately to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached technological feasibility and has no alternative future uses.

          Nonrefundable advance payments made for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are deferred if the contracted party has not yet performed the related activities. The amount deferred is then recognized as expense when the research and development activities are performed. The deferred research and development advance payments were $0.9 million as of December 31, 2014 and not significant as of December 31, 2013.

Fair value of financial instruments

 

Fair value of financial instruments

          The Company follows the fair value measurement rules, which provides guidance on the use of fair value in accounting and disclosure for assets and liabilities when such accounting and disclosure is called for by other accounting literature. These rules establish a fair value hierarchy for inputs to be used to measure fair value of financial assets and liabilities. This hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels: Level 1 (highest priority), Level 2, and Level 3 (lowest priority).

Level 1—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the balance sheet date.

Level 2—Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly. Level 2 inputs include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active, inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset or liability (i.e., interest rates, yield curves, etc.), and inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means (market corroborated inputs).

Level 3—Inputs are unobservable and reflect the Company's assumptions as to what market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The Company develops these inputs based on the best information available.

          Cash equivalents and investments are reflected in the accompanying financial statements at fair value. The carrying amount of receivables and accounts payable and accrued expenses approximates fair value due to the short-term nature of those instruments.

Beneficial conversion

 

Beneficial conversion

          When the Company issues a debt or an equity security that is convertible into common stock at a discount from the fair value of the common stock at the date the debt or equity security counterparty is legally committed to purchase such a security (Commitment Date), a beneficial conversion charge is measured and recorded on the Commitment Date for the difference between the fair value of the Company's common stock and the effective conversion price of the convertible debt or equity security. If the intrinsic value of the beneficial conversion feature is greater than the proceeds allocated to the convertible debt or equity security, the amount of the discount assigned to the beneficial conversion feature is limited to the amount of the proceeds allocated to the convertible debt or equity security.

          The amount allocated to the beneficial conversion feature is presented as a discount or reduction to the related debt security or as an immediate charge to earnings available to common shareholders for convertible preferred stock instruments that are convertible by the shareholders at any time. In connection with the Company's recapitalization of its outstanding convertible preferred stock in 2012, the Company recorded a beneficial conversion charge representing the difference between the effective conversion price and the fair value of the Company's common stock as of the Commitment Date. Because the intrinsic value was in excess of the proceeds allocated to the Company's new Series Three convertible preferred stock; the beneficial conversion charge was limited to the allocated proceeds of approximately $0.4 million.

Warrant liability

 

Warrant liability

          Warrants to purchase the Company's common stock with nonstandard antidilution provisions, regardless of the probability or likelihood that may conditionally obligate the issuer to ultimately transfer assets, are classified as liabilities and are recorded at their estimated fair value at each reporting period. Any change in fair value of these warrants is recorded as gain/(loss) on warrant valuation each reporting period in Other income/(expense) on the Company's statement of operations.

Impairment of long-lived assets

 

Impairment of long-lived assets

          The Company monitors its long-lived assets for indicators of impairment. If such indicators are present, the Company assesses the recoverability of affected assets by determining whether the carrying value of such assets is less than the sum of the undiscounted future cash flows of the assets. If such assets are found not to be recoverable, the Company measures the amount of such impairment by comparing the carrying value of the assets to the fair value of the assets, with the fair value generally determined based on the present value of the expected future cash flows associated with the assets. Although current and historical negative cash flows are indicators of impairment, management believes the future cash flows to be received from the long-lived assets and the potential success of the Company's research programs will exceed the assets' carrying value, and accordingly, the Company believes that no impairment of long-lived assets exists as of December 31, 2014.

Share-based compensation

 

Share-based compensation

          The Company measures the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the grant date fair value of the award. Restricted stock awards are measured based on the fair market values of the underlying stock on the dates of grant. For service type awards, share-based compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which the employee is required to provide service in exchange for the entire award. For awards that vest or begin vesting upon achievement of a performance condition, the Company estimates the likelihood of satisfaction of the performance condition and recognizes compensation expense when achievement of the performance condition is deemed probable using an accelerated attribution model.

          The fair value of options is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options on the date of grant based on key assumptions such as expected volatility and expected term. As a new public company, the Company does not have sufficient history to estimate the volatility of its common stock price or the expected life of the options. The Company calculates expected volatility based on reported data for similar publicly traded companies for which historical information is available and will continue to do so until the historical volatility of its common stock is sufficient to measure expected volatility for future option grants.

Income taxes

 

Income taxes

          Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and net operating loss and credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured at rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences and carryforwards are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in the statement of operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is not more likely than not that all or a portion of the net deferred tax assets will be realized.

Net tax benefit

 

Net tax benefit

          The Company recognized a tax benefit of $4.9 million related to the sale of net operating losses in the New Jersey Technology Business Tax Certificate Transfer Program for the year ended December 31, 2014. We did not participate in this program during the year ended December 31, 2013.

Net (loss) income per share

 

Net (loss) income per share

          Basic net income per share is calculated by dividing the net income attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period, without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net income per share is calculated by dividing the net income attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common share equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock method and the if-converted method. During periods in which the Company incurs net losses, both basic and diluted loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted average shares outstanding—potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the calculation because their effect would be anti-dilutive. Dilutive common stock equivalents are comprised of convertible preferred stock and options outstanding under the Company's stock option plans.

          In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ASU 2014-09 will eliminate transaction- and industry-specific revenue recognition guidance under current GAAP and replace it with a principle-based approach for determining revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 will require that companies recognize revenue based on the value of transferred goods or services as they occur in the contract. The ASU also will require additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. ASU 2014-09 is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is not permitted. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. Presently, the Company is assessing what effect the adoption of ASU 2014-09 will have on its financial statements and accompanying notes.