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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

3.	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company’s consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

Use of Estimates

The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates, including those related to revenue recognition, convertible notes and related warrants up to the date of conversion, common stock and stock-based compensation. The Company bases its estimates on various assumptions that the Company believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted

In November 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2016-18, Restricted Cash, which requires amounts generally described as restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the total beginning and ending amounts for the periods shown on the statement of cash flows. We adopted ASU 2016-18 effective January 1, 2018, using a retrospective transition method to each period presented. The adoption of this ASU changed previously reported amounts in the condensed consolidated statement of cash flows for the year ended December 31, 2017, by increasing our cash flows from financing activities by $5.3 million as compared to previously reported amounts for the prior year period.

In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments. The standard provides guidance on how certain cash receipts and payments are presented and classified in the statement of cash flows. The standard is intended to reduce current diversity in practice. The Company adopted ASU 2016-15 effective January 1, 2018, and this guidance did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements.

In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments – Overall (Topic 825-10), which updates certain aspects of recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of financial instruments. Subsequently, in February 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-03, Technical Corrections and Improvements to Financial Instruments - Overall (Topic 825-10), which clarifies certain aspects of ASU 2016-01, which includes provisions to accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option and presentation and disclosure requirements for financial instruments. The amended guidance requires equity securities, except for those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, with determinable fair values to be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income (loss). The Company adopted ASU 2016-01 and 2018-03 effective January 1, 2018, and this guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements, as the Company only has debt securities.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606), which amends the existing accounting standards for revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 is based on principles that govern the recognition of revenue at an amount an entity expects to be entitled when products are transferred to customers. Subsequently, the FASB has issued the following standards related to ASU 2014-09: ASU No. 2016-08, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Principal versus Agent Considerations; ASU No. 2016-10, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Identifying Performance Obligations and Licensing; and ASU No. 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients, (collectively, the “new revenue standards”). The Company adopted the new revenue standards effective January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method through a cumulative adjustment to equity. The Company has identified that the most significant change relates to its accounting for collaboration arrangements with multiple deliverables, in particular, the ISU Abxis agreement. Under the old guidance, such deliverables and consideration must be accounted for under a single unit of accounting along with other arrangement deliverables and consideration that does not have stand-alone value and are recognized as revenue over the estimated period that the performance obligations are to be performed. Under the current new standard however, the total arrangement consideration is allocated to each performance obligation based on its estimated stand-alone selling price and revenue is recognized as each performance obligation is satisfied. As a result, revenue for this transaction is recorded in an earlier period than under the old guidance, resulting in a $0.2 million increase to the Company’s opening balance of accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2018.

Adopting ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or the new revenue standard, involved new estimates and judgments related to the estimates of stand-alone selling prices and the allocation of discounts and variable consideration in allocating the transaction price. The Company recognized revenue earlier under the current new standard and may have more variability due to significant estimates involved under the new accounting guidance.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”), which sets out the principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both lessees and lessors. Originally, entities were required to adopt ASU 2016-02 using a modified retrospective approach at the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements and the recognition of a cumulative-effect adjustment to the opening balance of retained earnings. The FASB subsequently issued ASU No. 2018-10 and ASU No. 2018-11 in July 2018, which provide clarifications and improvements to ASU 2016-02 (collectively, the “new lease standard”).

ASU No. 2018-11 a also provides the optional transition method which allows companies to apply the new lease standard at the adoption date instead of at the earliest comparative period presented and continue to apply the provisions of the previous lease standard in its annual disclosures for the comparative periods. The new lease standard requires lessees to present a right-of-use (“ROU”) asset and a corresponding lease liability on the balance sheet. Lessor accounting is substantially unchanged compared to the current accounting guidance. Additional footnote disclosures related to leases will also be required.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted the new lease standard using the optional transition method. The comparative financial information will not be restated and will continue to be reported under the previous lease standard in effect during those periods. In addition, the new lease standard provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company elected the package of practical expedients. As such, the Company will not reassess whether expired or existing contracts are or contain a lease; will not need to reassess the lease classifications or reassess the initial direct costs associated with expired or existing leases. The Company did not elect the use-of-hindsight or the practical expedient pertaining to land easements; the latter not being applicable to the Company.

The new lease standard also provides practical expedients for an entity’s ongoing accounting. The Company elected the short-term lease recognition exemption for all leases that qualify. This means, for those leases that qualify, the Company will not recognize ROU assets or lease liabilities, and this includes not recognizing ROU assets or lease liabilities for existing short-term leases of those assets in transition. The Company elected the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components for certain classes of assets.

On January 1, 2019, the Company expects to recognize ROU assets of $2.5 million and lease liabilities of $2.3 million. The Company does not expect the adoption of the new lease standard to impact its consolidated statement of operations or its consolidated statement of cash flows.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company invests its excess cash in bank deposits, consisting primarily of money market mutual funds. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash at December 31, 2018 consists of a certain certificate of deposit account that is pledged as collateral for the Company’s corporate credit card program. Restricted cash at December 31, 2017 consisted of certain checking, money market and certificate of deposit accounts that are: (i) pledged to or held in a segregated escrow account by the Company’s correspondent banks for the benefit of the holders of the redeemable convertible notes in order to facilitate the payment of the redeemable convertible notes upon redemption or at maturity as discussed in Note 4 – Fair Value Measurements or (ii) pledged as collateral for the Company’s corporate credit card and deposit for its facility lease.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company applies fair value accounting for all financial assets and liabilities and non-financial assets and liabilities that are recognized or disclosed at fair value in the financial statements on a recurring basis. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or an exit price that would be paid to transfer a liability in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date.

The fair value hierarchy requires that an entity maximize the use of observable inputs when estimating fair value. The fair value hierarchy includes the following three-level classification which is based on the market observability of the inputs used for estimating the fair value of the assets or liabilities being measured:

Level 1 – Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 – Observable inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities, quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in inactive markets, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

Level 3 – Inputs that are generally unobservable and typically reflect management’s estimate of assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, which are three years for computer equipment and software, and three to seven years for furniture and leasehold improvements.

Investments

All investments have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at estimated fair value as determined based upon quoted market prices or pricing models for similar securities. Management determines the appropriate classification of its investments at the time of purchase and reevaluates such designation as of each balance sheet date. Unrealized gains and losses are excluded from earnings and are reported as a component of comprehensive loss. Realized gains and losses and declines in fair value determined to be other-than-temporary, if any, on available-for-sale securities are included in interest and other income. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific-identification method. Interest on short-term investments is included in interest and other income.

Derivative Liability

The embedded redemption feature in the redeemable convertible notes, which were convertible into shares of the Company’s common stock was bifurcated and was accounted for as a derivative liability at its estimated fair value. The derivative was subject to remeasurement at the end of each reporting period, with changes in fair value recognized as a component of interest and other income, in the consolidated statements of operations. These notes were repaid in 2018. The Company adjusted the liability for changes in fair value until the earlier of the conversion, redemption or maturity of the redeemable convertible notes. At December 31, 2017 the fair value was $0.

Revenue Recognition

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606 using the modified retrospective method through a cumulative adjustment to equity, which resulted in an immaterial $0.2 million decrease to our opening balance of accumulated deficit as of January 1, 2018. The Company enters into collaboration arrangements that may include the receipt of payments for up-front license fees, success-based milestone payments, full time equivalent based payments for research services, product supplies, and royalties on any future sales of commercialized products that result from the collaborations.

In determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under its agreements, the Company performs the following steps: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations based on estimated selling prices; and (v) recognition of revenue when the Company satisfies each performance obligation.

At the inception of each arrangement that includes variable consideration such as development milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether the milestones are considered probable of being reached and estimates the amount to be included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method. If it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur, the associated milestone value is included in the transaction price which is then allocated to each relevant performance obligation. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received.

As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must develop assumptions that require judgment to determine the timing of recognition and the stand-alone selling price for each performance obligation identified in the contract. The Company uses key assumptions to determine the stand-alone selling price, which may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.

Estimated selling prices for licenses are calculated using the residual approach if the Company has not yet established a price for such license and the license has not previously been sold on a standalone basis. Otherwise, selling prices for licenses are determined using an income approach model and include key assumptions such as: development timeline, revenue forecast, commercialization expenses, discount rate and probabilities of technical and regulatory success. To estimate selling prices for research services and product supply, the Company uses a cost-plus margin approach.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs consist of payroll and other personnel-related expenses, laboratory supplies and reagents, contract research and development services, and consulting costs, as well as allocations of facilities and other overhead costs. Under the Company’s collaboration agreements, certain specific expenditures are reimbursed by third parties. During the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company recorded a reduction to research and development expenses of $0.05 million and $0.1 million, respectively related to these reimbursements.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash and cash equivalents, investments and restricted cash. The Company’s investment policy restricts cash investments to high credit quality, investment grade investments. The Company believes that it has established guidelines for investment of its excess cash that maintain safety and liquidity through its policies on diversification and investment maturity. The Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of default by the institutions holding the cash and cash equivalents to the extent of the amounts recorded on the balance sheets.

The Company’s accounts receivable, included in prepaid and other current assets, at December 31, 2018 was $0.01 million, due from ISU Abxis, see Note 12. The Company has incurred no credit losses to date. The Company does not require collateral from its collaboration partners.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are computed using the liability method. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial reporting and tax basis 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 follows the authoritative guidance on accounting for uncertainty in income taxes. This guidance prescribes a more-likely-than-not threshold for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken in the Company’s income tax returns. This interpretation also provides guidance on accounting for interest and penalties and associated with tax positions, accounting for income taxes in interim periods and income tax disclosures.

The Company’s policy is to include penalties and interest expense related to income taxes as a component of other expense and interest expense, respectively, as necessary.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company measures the cost of employee and director services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments based on the fair value of the award on the date of grant and recognizes the related expense over the period during which the employee or director is required to provide service in exchange for the award on a straight-line basis.

The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing valuation model to estimate the grant-date fair value of stock-based awards. The determination of fair value for stock-based awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model requires management to make certain assumptions regarding a number of variables. Upon adoption of ASU 2016-09, the Company can make an accounting policy election to either estimate the number of share-based awards that are expected to vest, or account for forfeitures when they occur. The Company elected to account for forfeitures when they occur. As such, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense, over their requisite service period, based on the vesting provisions of the individual grants.

For nonemployee stock-based awards, the measurement date on which the fair value of the stock-based award is calculated is equal to the earlier of (i) the date at which a commitment for performance by the counterparty to earn the equity instrument is reached or (ii) the date at which the counterparty’s performance is complete. The Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense for the fair value-based measurement of the nonemployee awards using the Black Scholes option-pricing valuation model and the awards are typically subject to periodic re-measurement over the period that services are rendered.

Deferred Rent

The Company’s facilities lease agreement provides for an escalation of rent payments each year. The Company records rent expense on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. The difference between the amount of expense recognized and the amount of rent paid is recorded as deferred rent in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets.

Net Loss per Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share, since the effects of potentially dilutive securities are antidilutive given the net loss of the Company for all periods presented.