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Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to U.S. GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the financial statements of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated upon consolidation. Unless the context otherwise indicates, reference in these notes to the "Company" refer to SELLAS Life Sciences Group, Inc., and its wholly owned subsidiaries, Private SELLAS, SLSG Limited, LLC, Sellas Life Sciences Limited, and Apthera, Inc. The functional currency of the Company's non-U.S. operations is the U.S. dollar.
Use of Estimates
    
    The preparation of these consolidated financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP 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 expenses during the reporting period.
    
    On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates using historical experience and other factors, including the current economic environment. Significant items subject to such estimates are assumptions used for purposes of determining stock-based compensation, carrying value of IPR&D and any related impairment, carrying value of goodwill, fair value of contingent purchase price consideration, accounting for deferred income taxes, and accounting for research and development activities. Management believes its estimates to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.

Reclassifications

Certain prior year amounts have been reclassified to conform to current year presentation. These reclassifications had no effect on the Company's loss from operations, net loss, and net loss per share.

Segment 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 segment.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments
    
    The Company measures certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability. A three-tier fair value hierarchy is established as a basis for considering such assumptions and for inputs used in the valuation methodologies in measuring fair value:

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

Level 2—Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active; 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—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the carrying amounts of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash equivalents and accounts payable, approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of those instruments and were categorized as Level 1. As of December 31, 2021 and 2020, the carrying amounts of the Company’s contingent consideration and liability-classified warrants are each recorded at their estimated fair value. The fair value of the contingent consideration and warrants utilize certain unobservable inputs that fall within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. See Note 6 for additional information on the fair value of certain financial assets and liabilities.
Concentration of Credit Risk
    
    Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash on deposit with multiple financial institutions, the balances of which frequently exceed federally insured limits.

Impact of COVID-19

The ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, including the surges of cases from the Delta and Omicron variants, continues to disrupt the Company’s business operations and those of its contractors, contract research organizations (“CROs”), suppliers, clinical sites, contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”), and other partners. The COVID-19 pandemic could affect the health and availability of the Company’s workforce and that of the third-parties it relies on, such as its CROs, clinical sites, CMOs, and other contractors as well as the governmental agencies, such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) and health authorities in other countries which could delay or otherwise adversely impact the ability of such parties to fulfill their obligations. The Company is continuously monitoring the impact of the pandemic on its clinical development programs. The full extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to directly or indirectly impact the Company’s business, results of operations and financial condition will depend on future developments that are highly uncertain, subject to change and cannot be predicted with confidence, including the duration of the outbreak, the continued availability and efficacy of vaccines, new information which may emerge concerning the severity of COVID-19, the emergence of new variants of COVID-19, and the actions to contain COVID-19 or treat its impact, among others.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

    The Company considers any highly liquid investments, such as money market funds, with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash and cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents
    
    Restricted cash consists of certificates of deposit on hand with the Company’s financial institutions as collateral for its corporate credit cards.

The following table provides a reconciliation of the components of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents reported in the Company's consolidated balance sheets to the total amount presented in the consolidated statements of cash flows (in thousands):
December 31,
20212020
Cash and cash equivalents$21,355 $35,302 
Restricted cash and cash equivalents100 100 
Total cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and restricted cash equivalents$21,455 $35,402 

The Company maintained $0.1 million as of December 31, 2021 and 2020, on hand with the Company's financial institutions as collateral for its corporate credit cards.
Intangible Assets

As part of the business combination with Galena, the Company acquired certain in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets, which were capitalized as intangible assets. Costs to develop these assets are recorded in research and development expense as incurred in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

The Company’s intangible assets were comprised of identifiable assets which are considered indefinite-lived intangible assets and are assessed for impairment annually in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if impairment indicators exist. In the fourth quarter of 2021 as part of its annual impairment analysis, the Company measured the fair value of the IPR&D asset, nelipepimut-S ("NPS"), by estimating the costs to develop the acquired technology into commercially viable products, estimating the resulting revenue from the projects and discounting the related net cash flow to present value. The revenue and cost projections used to value IPR&D were reduced based on the probability of success of developing NPS in other oncology indications outside of breast cancer, given that the Company determined that consummating an out-licensing transaction of NPS for further development in breast cancer was unlikely. Additionally, the projections consider the relevant market sizes and growth factors, expected trends in technology and the nature and expected timing of new product introductions by the Company and its competitors. The rates utilized to discount the net cash flow to their present value are commensurate with the stage of development of the projects and uncertainties in the economic estimates used in the projections. In the fourth quarter of 2021, the fair value of the Company’s NPS IPR&D was determined to exceed its carrying value by $5.7 million, and as such the Company recognized an impairment charge equal to the same amount that was recorded within in-process research and development impairment charge in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations.

Goodwill

    Goodwill is the excess of the cost of an acquired entity over the net amounts assigned to tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed. Goodwill is not amortized but is subject to an annual impairment test. The Company has a single reporting unit and all goodwill relates to that reporting unit. The Company performs its annual goodwill impairment test in the fourth quarter of each fiscal year or more frequently if changes in circumstances or the occurrence of events suggest that an impairment exists. The Company did not recognize any impairment of goodwill during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Contingent Consideration

The consideration for Galena's acquisition of Apthera, Inc. in 2011 includes future payments that are contingent upon the achievement of certain events related to the development and commercialization of NPS. Contingent consideration, and the obligations for such contingent consideration payments, is required to be recognized at fair value as of the acquisition date. The contingent consideration obligations are then evaluated each reporting period and changes in the fair value of contingent consideration, other than changes due to payments, are recognized as a gain or loss and recorded within the change in the fair value of contingent consideration in the Company's consolidated statements of operations. The fair value of development and regulatory milestones are estimated utilizing a probability adjusted, discounted cash flow approach. The fair value of net sales milestones is based on probability adjusted sales estimates and estimated discount rates and utilizes an option pricing model with Monte Carlo simulation to simulate a range of possible payment scenarios, and the average of the payments in these scenarios is then discounted to calculate present fair value. During the fourth quarter of 2021, the Company changed the valuation technique of net sales milestones from a probability adjusted, discounted cash flow approach to the option pricing model with Monte Carlo simulation.
The discount rates used are an estimated measure of credit risk associated with the years of expected payments based on the current development stage of the associated product candidate, the Company's specific development plan for that product candidate adjusted for the probability of completing the stages of development and when the contingent payments would be triggered. In estimating the probability of success, the Company utilizes data regarding similar milestone events from several sources, including industry studies and the Company's experience. The fair value of the contingent consideration is classified as a Level 3 liability as the valuation requires substantial judgment and estimation of factors that are not currently observable in the market. If different assumptions were used for the various inputs to the valuation, including but not limited to, assumptions involving the probability of success, estimated discount rate, and projected years of payment, the estimated fair value could be significantly higher or lower than the fair value determined. See Note 6 for additional information on the contingent consideration.

Leases

The Company accounts for its leasing arrangements under ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“Topic 842”). Under Topic 842, all significant lease arrangements are generally recognized at lease commencement. Operating lease right-of-use ("ROU"), assets and lease liabilities are recognized at the commencement date. An ROU asset and corresponding lease liability is not recorded for leases with an initial term of 12 months or less (short term leases) and the Company recognizes lease expense for these leases as incurred over the lease term.

ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset during the reasonably certain lease terms and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the option will be exercised. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. The Company primarily uses its incremental borrowing rate, based on the information available at commencement date, in determining the present value of lease payments. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments related to initial direct cost and prepayments and excludes lease incentives. Lease expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The Company’s lease agreement contains lease and non-lease components, which are generally accounted for separately. See Note 8 for discussion of the Company’s facility lease.

Revenue Recognition

The Company records revenue in accordance with ASC Topic 606, Revenue From Contracts with Customers ("Topic 606"). This standard applies to all contracts with customers, except for contracts that are within the scope of other standards, such as leases, insurance, collaboration arrangements and financial instruments. Under Topic 606, an entity recognizes revenue when its customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration that the entity expects to receive in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that an entity determines are within the scope of Topic 606, the entity performs the following five-steps: (i) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The Company only applies the five step model to contracts when it is probable that the entity will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of Topic 606, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then allocates the transaction price to each distinct performance obligation based on its relative standalone selling price. The Company recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. See Note 11 for further discussion of the Company's revenue recognition associated with the License Agreement with 3D Medicines Inc.
Development, Regulatory and Sales Milestones and Other Payments

At the inception of each arrangement that includes regulatory or development milestone payments, the Company evaluates whether the milestones are considered probable of being achieved 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 considered probable of being achieved until those approvals are received. The Company evaluates factors such as the scientific, clinical, regulatory, commercial, and other risks that must be overcome to achieve the particular milestone in making this assessment. There is considerable judgment involved in determining whether it is probable that a significant revenue reversal would not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company reevaluates the probability of achievement of all milestones subject to constraint and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and earnings in the period of adjustment.

For arrangements that include sales-based royalties, including milestone payments upon first commercial sales and milestone payments based on a level of sales, which are the result of a customer-vendor relationship and for which the license is deemed to be the predominant item to which the royalties relate, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied or partially satisfied. To date, the Company has not recognized any royalty revenue resulting from any of its licensing arrangements.

Research and Development Expenses

    Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs that are paid in advance of performance are capitalized as a prepaid expense and recognized as research and development expenses as the services are provided. Clinical study costs, a component of research and development expenses, are accrued over the service periods specified in the contracts and adjusted as necessary based on an ongoing review of the level of effort and costs actually incurred. Payments for a product license prior to regulatory approval of the product and payments for milestones achieved prior to regulatory approval of the product are expensed in the period incurred as research and development expenses. Milestone payments made in connection with regulatory approvals are capitalized and amortized to cost of revenue over the remaining useful life of the asset.

    Research and development expenses primarily consist of the intellectual property and research and development materials acquired, expenses from third parties who conduct research and development activities on behalf of the Company as well as related wages, benefits and other operating costs. The Company expenses IPR&D projects acquired as asset acquisitions which have not reached technological feasibility and which have no alternative future use.

Stock-based Compensation

    The Company measures employee and non-employee director share-based awards at their grant-date fair value and records compensation expense on a straight-line basis over the vesting period of the awards.

    Estimating the fair value of share-based awards requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the expected life of the options and stock price volatility. The Company accounts for forfeitures for stock option awards as they occur. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option pricing model to value its stock option awards. The assumptions used in estimating the fair value of share-based awards represent management’s estimate and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. As a result, if factors change and management uses different assumptions, share-based compensation expense could be materially different for future awards.
    
The expected life of the stock options is estimated using the “simplified method,” as the Company has limited historical information from which to develop reasonable expectations about future exercise patterns and post-vesting employment termination behavior for its stock option grants. The simplified method is the midpoint between the vesting period and the contractual term of the option. For stock price volatility, the Company uses comparable public companies as a basis for its expected volatility to calculate the fair value of option grants as it does not have adequate historical pricing information of its own stock commensurate with the expected term. The risk-free rate is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curve commensurate with the expected life of the option.

Restricted Stock Units with Performance and Service Conditions

The Company's Board of Directors has granted restricted stock units ("RSUs") to certain employees that vest based on performance and service conditions. The fair values of the performance-based RSUs are measured on the date of grant and are based on the Company's closing stock price on such date. Compensation expense is recognized for the number of performance-based RSUs expected to be earned, provided the requisite service period has been rendered, after assessing the probability that certain performance criteria will be met. Cumulative adjustments are recorded each quarter to reflect the estimated outcome of the performance-related conditions until the date results are determined and settled. The Company accounts for forfeitures of performance-based RSUs when they occur. If performance criteria are not met or are not expected to be met, any compensation expense previously recognized to date associated with the performance-based RSUs will be reversed.

Restricted Stock Units with Service Conditions Only

The Board of Directors has granted RSUs to certain employees that vest based on continuous service. Time-vested RSUs awarded to employees vest one-fourth per year annually over four years, provided the employee remains employed with the Company. The fair values of the time-vested RSUs are measured on the date of grant and are based on the Company's closing stock price on such date. Compensation expense for time-vested RSUs with service conditions only are recognized straight-line over the applicable service period. The Company accounts for forfeitures of time-vested RSUs when they occur. Previously recognized compensation expense for forfeited RSUs are reversed in the period the time-vested RSUs are forfeited.

Income Taxes

    The Company uses the asset and liability method of accounting for income taxes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and credit carryforwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized. The Company recognizes the benefit of an uncertain tax position that it has taken or expects to take on its income tax returns, if such a position is more likely than not to be sustained. Potential interest and penalties associated with unrecognized tax positions are recognized in income tax expense. No interest or penalties were recognized in either of the years ended December 31, 2021 or 2020.
    
The Company recognizes liabilities or assets for the deferred tax consequences of temporary differences between the tax basis of assets or liabilities and their reported amounts in the consolidated financial statements in accordance with FASB ASC 740-10, “Accounting for Income Taxes” (“ASC 740-10”). These temporary differences will result in taxable or deductible amounts in future years when the reported amounts of the assets or liabilities are recovered or settled. ASC 740-10 requires that a valuation allowance be established when management determines that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of a deferred asset will not be realized. The Company evaluates the realizability of its net deferred income tax assets and valuation allowances as necessary, at least on an annual basis. During this evaluation, the Company reviews its forecasts of income in conjunction with other positive and negative evidence surrounding the realizability of its deferred income tax assets to determine if a valuation allowance is required. Adjustments to the valuation allowance will increase or decrease the Company’s income tax provision or benefit. The recognition and measurement of benefits related to the Company’s tax positions requires significant judgment, as uncertainties often exist with respect to new laws, new interpretations of existing laws, and
rulings by taxing authorities. Differences between actual results and the Company’s assumptions or changes in the Company’s assumptions in future periods are recorded in the period they become known.

Net Loss Per Share

    Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during each period. Diluted loss per share includes the effect, if any, from the potential exercise or conversion of securities, such as warrants, stock options and unvested restricted stock that would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common stock. In computing the basic and diluted net loss per share, the weighted average number of shares remains the same for both calculations due to the fact that when a net loss exists, dilutive shares are not included in the calculation as the impact is anti-dilutive.

The following potentially dilutive securities outstanding have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding, as their impact would be anti-dilutive (in thousands):
December 31,
20212020
Common stock warrants519 1,392 
Stock options534 208 
Restricted stock units200 170 
1,253 1,770 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740):Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes which, among other things, eliminates certain exceptions in the current rules regarding the approach for intra-period tax allocations and the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. The standard was adopted by the Company on January 1, 2021. This new standard did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

Recent Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 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): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity which, among other things, simplifies the accounting models for the allocation of proceeds attributable to the issuance of a convertible debt instrument. As a result, after adopting the ASU’s guidance, entities will not separately present in equity an embedded conversion feature in such debt. Instead, they will account for a convertible debt instrument wholly as debt, and for convertible preferred stock wholly as preferred stock (i.e., as a single unit of account), unless (i) a convertible instrument contains features that require bifurcation as a derivative under ASC 815 or (ii) a convertible debt instrument was issued at a substantial premium. The standard becomes effective for the Company in the first quarter of 2024 and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

In May 2021, ASU No. 2021-04, Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications of Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options was issued to clarify the accounting for modifications or exchanges of freestanding equity-classified written call options, such as warrants, that remain equity classified after modification or exchange. This ASU became effective for the Company on January 1, 2022 and is not expected to have a material impact on the consolidated financial statements.