Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10‑Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the balances and results for the periods presented. They may not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2018, which were included in the Company’s Form 10‑K and filed with the SEC on March 18, 2019. The results of operations for any interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year or any other interim period.

Use of Estimates

The Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements include certain amounts that are based on management’s best estimates and judgments. The Company’s significant estimates include, but are not limited to, 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. Due to the uncertainty inherent in such estimates actual results could differ from those estimates.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. Upfront and milestone payments due to third parties that perform research and development services on the Company’s behalf will be expensed as services are rendered or when the milestone is achieved.

Research and development costs primarily consist of personnel related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and other related expenses, stock-based compensation, payments made to third parties for license and milestone costs related to in-licensed products and technology, payments made to third party contract research organizations for preclinical and clinical studies, investigative sites for clinical trials, consultants, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, costs associated with regulatory filings, laboratory costs and other supplies.

In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730-10-25-1, Research and Development, costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses are charged to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use. Such licenses purchased by the Company require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach commercial feasibility and have no alternative future use.

Significant Accounting Policies

There have been no material changes to the Company’s significant accounting policies previously disclosed in the Company’s Form 10‑K filed with the SEC on March 18, 2019, with the exception of the adoption of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standard Updates (ASU) ASU 2016‑02, Leases, and 2018‑07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting.

Leases

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company accounts for its leases under ASC 842, Leases. Under this guidance, arrangements meeting the definition of a lease are classified as operating or financing leases and are recorded on the consolidated balance sheet as both a right of use asset and lease liability, calculated by discounting fixed lease payments over the lease term at the rate implicit in the lease or the Company’s incremental borrowing rate. Lease liabilities are increased by interest and reduced by payments each period, and the right of use asset is amortized over the lease term. For operating leases, interest on the lease liability and the amortization of the right of use asset result in straight-line rent expense over the lease term. Variable lease expenses are recorded when incurred. In calculating the right of use asset and lease liability, the Company elects to combine lease and non-lease components. The Company excludes short-term leases having initial terms of 12 months or less from the new guidance as an accounting policy election and recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company continues to account for leases in the prior period financial statements under ASC Topic 840.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company expenses stock-based compensation to employees over the requisite service period based on the estimated grant-date fair value of the awards and forfeiture rates.

For stock-based compensation awards to non-employees, prior to the adoption of ASU 2018‑07 on January 1, 2019, the Company remeasured the fair value of the non-employee awards at each reporting period prior to vesting and finally at the vesting date of the award. Changes in the estimated fair value of these non-employee awards were recognized as compensation expense in the period of change. Subsequent to the adoption of ASU 2018‑07, the Company recognizes non-employee compensation costs over the requisite service period based on a measurement of fair value for each stock award.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model or 409A valuations, as applicable. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based awards represent management’s best estimates and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment.

Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments. ASU 2016-13 requires that expected credit losses relating to financial assets are measured on an amortized cost basis and available-for-sale debt securities be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. ASU 2016-13 limits the amount of credit losses to be recognized for available-for-sale debt securities to the amount by which carrying value exceeds fair value and also requires the reversal of previously recognized credit losses if fair value increases. The new standard will be effective on January 1, 2020 and may be adopted earlier. The Company is currently evaluating the impact, if any, that ASU 2016-13 will have on its condensed consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.

In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018‑13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), - Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement, which makes a number of changes meant to add, modify or remove certain disclosure requirements associated with the movement amongst or hierarchy associated with Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 fair value measurements. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted upon issuance of the update. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on its condensed financial statements.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards

In August 2018, the SEC adopted the final rule under SEC Release No. 33-10532, Disclosure Update and Simplification, amending certain disclosure requirements that were redundant, duplicative, overlapping, outdated or superseded. In addition, the amendments expanded the disclosure requirements on the analysis of stockholders' equity for interim financial statements. Under the amendments, an analysis of changes in each caption of stockholders' equity presented in the balance sheet must be provided in a note or separate statement. The analysis should present a reconciliation of the beginning balance to the ending balance of each period for which a statement of comprehensive income is required to be filed. This final rule became effective on November 5, 2018. The Company included the required presentation of changes in stockholders' equity in this Form 10-Q.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018‑07, “Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting”, which simplifies the accounting for share-based payments granted to nonemployees for goods and services. Under the ASU, most of the guidance on such payments to nonemployees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees. The changes take effect for public companies for fiscal years starting after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than an entity’s adoption date of Topic 606. The Company adopted ASU No. 2018‑07 as of January 1, 2019. The adoption of this update did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed financial statements.

In July 2017, the FASB issued ASU 2017-11, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480) and Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): I. Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Down Round Features; II. Replacement of the Indefinite Deferral for Mandatorily Redeemable Financial Instruments of Certain Nonpublic Entities and Certain Mandatorily Redeemable Noncontrolling Interests with a Scope Exception. Part I of this update addresses the complexity of accounting for certain financial instruments with down round features. Down round features are features of certain equity-linked instruments (or embedded features) that result in the strike price being reduced on the basis of the pricing of future equity offerings. Current accounting guidance creates cost and complexity for entities that issue financial instruments (such as warrants and convertible instruments) with down round features that require fair value measurement of the entire instrument or conversion option. Part II of this update addresses the difficulty of navigating Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, because of the existence of extensive pending content in the FASB Accounting Standards Codification. This pending content is the result of the indefinite deferral of accounting requirements about mandatorily redeemable financial instruments of certain nonpublic entities and certain mandatorily redeemable noncontrolling interests. The amendments in Part II of this update do not have an accounting effect. This ASU is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2018. The adoption of this ASU on January 1, 2019, did not have a material impact on its condensed consolidated financial statements.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016‑02, Leases (Topic 842) in order to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by, among other provisions, recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet for those leases classified as operating leases under previous GAAP. For public companies, ASU 2016‑02 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018 (including interim periods within those periods), using a modified retrospective approach and early adoption is permitted. In transition, entities may also elect a package of practical expedients that must be applied in its entirety to all leases commencing before the adoption date, unless the lease is modified, and permits entities to not reassess (a) the existence of a lease, (b) lease classification or (c) determination of initial direct costs, as of the adoption date, which effectively allows entities to carry forward accounting conclusions under previous U.S. GAAP.  In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018‑11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, which provides entities an optional transition method to apply the guidance under Topic 842 as of the adoption date, rather than as of the earliest period presented. The Company adopted Topic 842 on January 1, 2019, using the optional transition method to apply the new guidance as of January 1, 2019, rather than as of the earliest period presented, and elected the package of practical expedients described above. Based on the analysis, on January 1, 2019, the Company recorded right of use assets of approximately $1.2 million, lease liability of approximately $2.0 million and eliminated deferred rent of approximately $0.7 million.