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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its subsidiary. Intercompany accounts and transactions, if applicable, 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

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

Accounting Pronouncements Recently Adopted

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), to enhance the transparency and comparability of financial reporting related to leasing arrangements. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2019 using the optional transition method and applied the standard only to leases that existed at that date. Under the optional transition method, the Company does not need to restate the comparative periods in transition and will continue to present financial information and disclosures for periods before January 1, 2019 in accordance with ASC Topic 840. The Company also elected relevant optional practical expedients including that the Company did not (1) reassess whether expired or existing contracts are or contain a lease, (2) reassess the lease classifications or reassess the initial direct costs associated with expired or existing leases, and (3) separate lease and non-lease components of its operating leases in which it is the lessee. The adoption of the new lease accounting standard had an impact of approximately $2.1 million on the Company's assets and liabilities on January 1, 2019 and had no impact on cash provided by or used in operating, investing or financing activities on the Company's consolidated statements of cash flows. The adoption of the new lease accounting standard did not impact previously reported financial results.

Financial Instruments

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 consolidated financial statements, as the Company only has debt securities in its investment portfolio.

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASC 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 related standards: 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 ASU No. 2014-09 effective January 1, 2018, using the modified retrospective method through a cumulative adjustment to equity. The Company identified one active collaboration arrangement with multiple deliverables at that time, see Note 12. Under the superseded guidance, deliverables and consideration under the collaboration agreement 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 ASU No. 2014-09, 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 from the collaboration arrangement of $0.2 million was adjusted to record in an early accounting period upon the adoption of ASU No. 2014-09 as an increase to the Company’s opening balance of accumulated deficit.

Classification of certain cash receipts and cash payments in the statement of cash flows

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.

New Accounting Pronouncements – Issued But Not Yet Adopted

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments, or ASU 2016-13. The main objective of ASU 2016-13 is to provide financial statement users with more decision-useful information about an entity's expected credit losses on financial instruments and other commitments to extend credit at each reporting date. To achieve this objective, the amendments in this update replace the incurred loss impairment methodology currently used today with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to develop credit loss estimates. Subsequent to issuing ASU 2016-13, the FASB issued ASU 2018-19, Codification Improvements to Topic 326, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses, for the purpose of clarifying certain aspects of ASU 2016-13. In May 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-05, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Targeted Transition Relief, to provide entities with more flexibility in applying the fair value option on adoption of the credit impairment standard. ASU 2018-19 and ASU 2019-05 have the same effective date and transition requirements as ASU 2016-13. ASU 2016-13 will be effective for all entities except public companies that are not smaller reporting companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within those fiscal years, using a modified retrospective approach. Early adoption is permitted. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2016-13 and related updates as of January 1, 2023. The Company will assess the impact of adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808) (“ASC 808”): Clarifying the Interaction Between Topic 808 and Topic 606. The amended guidance precludes presenting consideration from a transaction in a collaborative arrangement as revenue from contracts with customers if the counterparty is not a customer for that transaction. The new guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company plans to adopt ASU 2018-18 as of January 1, 2020. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2018-18 to have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

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.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

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 consolidated 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

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

Investments

The Company invests its excess cash in investment grade, short to intermediate-term, fixed income securities and recognizes purchased securities on the settlement date. All investments have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at estimated fair value 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 on available-for-sale debt securities 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 debt securities are included in interest and other income, net. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific-identification method. Interest on short-term investments is included in interest and other income, net.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

License and Collaboration Arrangements

Effective January 1, 2018, the Company adopted Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 606 using the modified retrospective method and applied the standard only to contracts that were still active or in place at that date.

The Company may enter into collaboration arrangements that fall under the scope Collaborative Arrangements (Topic 808). The Company analyzes its collaboration arrangements to assess whether they are within the scope of ASC 808 to determine whether such arrangements involve joint operating activities performed by parties that are both active participants in the activities and exposed to significant risks and rewards dependent on the commercial success of such activities. This assessment is performed throughout the life of the arrangement based on changes in the responsibilities of all parties in the arrangement. The accounting for some of the activities under collaboration arrangements may be analogized to ASC 606 for distinct units of account that are reflective of a vendor-customer relationship.

Under ASC 606, 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.

If a license to the Company’s intellectual property is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the arrangement, the Company recognizes revenues attributed to the license when the license is transferred to the customer and the customer is able to use and benefit from the license. For licenses that are bundled with other promises, the Company utilizes judgement to assess the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied over time or at a point in time.

At the inception of each arrangement that contain development milestones, the Company evaluates whether the development milestones included 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. Milestone payments that are not within the control of the Company or the licensee, such as regulatory approvals, are not generally considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received.

At the end of each reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of achievement of any development milestones, and if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the transaction price. Any such adjustments would be recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and earnings in the period of adjustment. For research and development services, the Company elected the practical expedient to recognize revenue as the research and development services are invoiced.

The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative stand-alone selling price (“SSP”) basis. The Company recognizes revenue as or when the performance obligations under the contract are satisfied. As part of the accounting for these arrangements, the Company must develop assumptions that require judgment to determine the timing of recognition and the SSP for each performance obligation identified in the contract. 

The SSP 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 the SSP for research and development services, the Company uses a cost-plus margin approach. As of December 31, 2019, the Company recorded $15.0 million of deferred revenue from a license and collaboration agreement that was executed on December 18, 2019. See Note 12.

Research and Development Expenses

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, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded a reduction to research and development expenses of $0.0 million and $0.05 million, respectively related to these reimbursements.

Concentration of Credit Risk

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 high quality of investment and investment duration. 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 as of December 31, 2019 of $15.0 million was due from one party, see Note 12. The amount was subsequently received in full. 

Contract Balances

Contract Balances

Amounts payable to the Company are recorded as accounts receivable when the Company’s right to consideration is unconditional. Customer payments are recorded as deferred revenue upon receipt or when due and may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until the Company performs its obligations under the arrangements. The Company regularly reviews the outstanding accounts receivable, including consideration of factors such as the age of the receivable balance. As of December 31, there was no allowance for doubtful accounts deemed necessary.

Income Taxes

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

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company measures the cost of employee, non-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, non-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, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, 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.

Leases

Leases

At the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether the arrangement is or contains a lease based on the unique facts and circumstances present. Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the expected lease term. The interest rate implicit in lease contracts is typically not readily determinable. As such, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate, which is the rate incurred to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. Certain adjustments to the right-of-use asset may be required for items such as initial direct costs paid or incentives received.

The Company has elected to combine lease and non-lease components as a single component. The lease expense is recognized over the expected term on a straight-line basis. Operating leases are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use assets, operating lease liabilities, current and operating lease liabilities, non-current.

Net Loss per Share

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.

Reclassification

Reclassification

Certain amounts for the year ended December 31, 2018 have been reclassified, to be consistent with the current year's presentation.