| SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | NOTE 2 — SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of presentation The financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), and include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s financial position for the periods presented. From its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to business planning, engaging regulatory, manufacturing and other technical consultants, planning and executing clinical trials and raising capital. Reverse Stock Split On June 17, 2022, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment to its Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Amendment”) with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware to effect a one-for-eight (1-for-8) reverse stock split of its outstanding common stock. The Amendment became effective at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on June 17, 2022. A series of alternate amendments to effect a reverse stock split was approved by the Company’s stockholders at the Company’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders on June 10, 2022, and the specific one-for-eight (1-for-8) reverse stock split was subsequently approved by the Company’s board of directors on June 10, 2022. The Amendment provided that, at the effective time of the Amendment, every eight (8) shares of the Company’s issued and outstanding common stock automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock, without any change in par value per share. The reverse stock split affected all shares of the Company’s common stock outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment. As a result of the reverse stock split, proportionate adjustments were made to the per share exercise price and/or the number of shares issuable upon the exercise or vesting of all stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards issued by the Company and outstanding immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment, which resulted in a proportionate decrease in the number of shares of the Company’s common stock reserved for issuance upon exercise or vesting of such stock options, restricted stock units and restricted stock awards, and, in the case of stock options, a proportionate increase in the exercise price of all such stock options. In addition, the number of shares reserved for issuance under the Company’s equity compensation plans immediately prior to the effective time of the Amendment was reduced proportionately. The reverse stock split did not affect the number of shares of common stock authorized for issuance under the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation, which remained at 125,000,000 shares. No fractional shares were issued as a result of the reverse stock split. Stockholders of record who would otherwise have been entitled to receive a fractional share received a cash payment in lieu thereof. The reverse stock split affected all stockholders proportionately and did not affect any stockholder’s percentage ownership of the Company’s common stock (except to the extent that the reverse stock split results in any stockholder owning only a fractional share). As a result of the reverse stock split, the number of the Company’s outstanding shares of common stock as of June 17, 2022 decreased from 42,721,566 (pre-split) shares to 5,340,193 (post-split) shares. All share and per share amounts in the accompanying financial statements, related footnotes, and management’s discussion and analysis have been adjusted retroactively to reflect the reverse stock split as if it had occurred at the beginning of the earliest period presented. The Company’s common stock began trading on The Nasdaq Global Market on a split-adjusted basis when the market opened on June 21, 2022. Effective September 12, 2022, the Company transferred the listing of its common stock from The Nasdaq Global Market to The Nasdaq Capital Market. Consolidation The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the results of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Mind-NRG Sarl and Minerva Neurosciences Securities Corporation. Intercompany transactions have been eliminated. Significant risks and uncertainties The Company’s operations are subject to a number of factors that can affect its operating results and financial condition. Such factors include, but are not limited to: the results of clinical testing and trial activities of the Company’s products, the Company’s ability to obtain regulatory approval to market its products, competition from products manufactured and sold or being developed by other companies, the price of, and demand for, Company products, the Company’s ability to negotiate favorable licensing or other manufacturing and marketing agreements for its products, and the Company’s ability to raise capital. The Company currently has no commercially approved products and there can be no assurance that the Company’s research and development will be successfully commercialized. Developing and commercializing a product requires significant time and capital and is subject to regulatory review and approval as well as competition from other biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. The Company operates in an environment of rapid change and is dependent upon the continued services of its employees and consultants and obtaining and protecting intellectual property. Use of estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and cash equivalents Cash equivalents include short-term, highly-liquid instruments, consisting of money market accounts and short-term investments with maturities from the date of purchase of 90 days or less. The majority of cash and cash equivalents are maintained with major financial institutions in North America. Deposits with these financial institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. These deposits may be redeemed upon demand which reduces counterparty performance risk. Restricted cash Cash accounts with any type of restriction are classified as restricted. The Company maintained restricted cash balances as collateral for corporate credit cards in the amount of $ 0.1 million at December 31, 2023 and 2022 . Refundable regulatory fee On August 12, 2022, the Company paid $ 3,117,218 to the FDA for the NDA user fee related to roluperidone. The Company met the conditions of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, as amended, for the small business waiver of the user fees and its request for a waiver of an application user fee was granted by the FDA on November 2, 2022. On January 26, 2023, the refund was received from the FDA. Research and development costs Costs incurred in connection with research and development activities are expensed as incurred. These costs include licensing fees to use certain technology in the Company’s research and development projects as well as fees paid to consultants and various entities that perform certain research and testing on behalf of the Company and costs related to salaries, benefits, bonuses and stock-based compensation granted to employees in research and development functions. The Company determines expenses related to clinical studies based on estimates of the services received and efforts expended pursuant to contracts with multiple research institutions and contract research organizations (“CROs”) that conduct and manage clinical studies on its behalf. The financial terms of these agreements are subject to negotiation, vary from contract to contract and may result in uneven payment flows. Payments under some of these contracts depend on factors such as the successful enrollment of patients and the completion of clinical trial milestones. In accruing service fees, the Company estimates the time period over which services will be performed and the level of effort to be expended in each period. If the actual timing of the performance of services or the level of effort varies from the estimate, the accrual is adjusted accordingly. The expenses for some trials may be recognized on a straight-line basis if the anticipated costs are expected to be incurred ratably during the period. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual arrangements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected in the consolidated financial statements as prepaid or accrued expenses. In-process research and development In-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets represent capitalized incomplete research projects that the Company acquired through business combinations. Such assets are initially measured at their acquisition date fair values. The initial fair values of the research projects are recorded as intangible assets on the balance sheet, rather than expensed, regardless of whether these assets have an alternative future use. The amounts capitalized are being accounted for as indefinite-lived intangible assets, subject to impairment testing, until completion or abandonment of research and development efforts associated with the project. An IPR&D asset is considered abandoned when it ceases to be used (that is, research and development efforts associated with the asset have ceased, and there are no plans to sell or license the asset or derive defensive value from the asset). At that point, the asset is considered to be disposed of and is written off. Upon successful completion of each project, the Company will make a determination about the remaining useful life of the intangible asset and begin amortization. The Company tests its indefinite-lived intangibles, IPR&D assets, for impairment annually and more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired. When testing indefinite-lived intangibles for impairment, the Company may assess qualitative factors for its indefinite-lived intangibles to determine whether it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood of more than 50 percent) that the asset is impaired. Alternatively, the Company may bypass this qualitative assessment for some or all of its indefinite-lived intangibles and perform the quantitative impairment test that compares the fair value of the indefinite-lived intangible asset with the asset’s carrying amount. Impairment of MIN-301 In-process Research and Development Asset In 2021, the Company made the strategic decision to focus its limited resources on moving forward its lead drug candidate, roluperidone, and deferred the development of MIN-301 until additional resources become available. As a result of the Company’s limited resources and development deferral combined with the overall market conditions, it recognized a non-cash charge of $ 15.2 million as of December 31, 2021 related to the impairment of the intangible asset for MIN-301. The Company had previously recognized in-process research and development for MIN-301 in conjunction with the acquisition of MIN-301 during 2014. No updates were made in respect of the development of MIN-301 during 2023 . Stock-based compensation The Company recognizes compensation cost relating to stock-based payment transactions using a fair-value measurement method, which requires all stock-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in operating results as compensation expense based on fair value over the requisite service period of the awards. The Company determines the fair value of stock-based awards using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model which uses both historical and current market data to estimate fair value. The method incorporates various assumptions such as the risk-free interest rate, expected volatility, expected dividend yield, and expected life of the options. Forfeitures are recorded as they occur instead of estimating forfeitures that are expected to occur. The fair value of restricted stock units (“RSUs”) is equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock on the date of grant. See Note 7 for information on the Company’s performance-based restricted stock units (“PRSU”) grants. The date of expense recognition for grants to non-employees is the earlier of the date at which a commitment for performance by the counterparty to earn the equity instrument is reached or the date at which the counterparty’s performance is complete. The Company determines the fair value of stock-based awards granted to non-employees similar to the way fair value of awards are determined for employees except that certain assumptions used in the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, such as expected life of the option, may be different. Foreign currency transactions The Company’s functional currency is the U.S. Dollar. The Company pays certain vendor invoices in the respective foreign currency. The Company records an expense in U.S. Dollars at the time the liability is incurred. Changes in the applicable foreign currency rate between the date an expense is recorded and the payment date is recorded as a foreign currency gain or loss. Loss per share Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted loss per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that shared in the earnings of the entity. The treasury stock method is used to determine the dilutive effect of the Company’s stock options and warrants. Income taxes Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax reporting bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Uncertain tax positions are evaluated and if appropriate, the amount of unrecognized tax benefits are recorded within deferred tax assets. Deferred tax assets are evaluated for realization based on a more-likely-than-not criterion in determining if a valuation allowance should be provided. Valuation allowances are established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts expected to be realized. The Company uses a recognition threshold and measurement attribute for the financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken, or expected to be taken, in a tax return. The Company has elected to treat interest and penalties, to the extent they arise, as a component of income tax expense. There was no interest or penalties related to income taxes for the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022 . Income tax years beginning in 2019 for federal and state purposes are generally subject to examination by taxing authorities, although net operating losses from all prior years are subject to examinations and adjustments for at least three years following the year in which the tax attributes are utilized. Concentration of credit risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk are primarily cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalent balances in the form of business checking accounts and money market accounts, the balances of which, at times, may exceed federally insured limits. Exposure to cash and cash equivalents credit risk is reduced by placing such deposits with major financial institutions and monitoring their credit ratings. Marketable securities consist primarily of corporate bonds, with fixed interest rates. Exposure to credit risk of marketable securities is reduced by maintaining a diverse portfolio and monitoring their credit ratings. Equipment Equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Equipment is depreciated on the straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives of three years . Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. Software The Company accounts for capitalized software in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 350, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350-40”), which provides guidance for computer software developed or obtained for internal use. The Company is required to continually evaluate the stage of the implementation process to determine whether costs are expensed or capitalized. Costs incurred during the preliminary project phase or planning and research phase are expensed as incurred. Costs incurred during the development phase, such as material and direct services costs, compensation costs of employees associated with the development and interest cost, are capitalized as incurred. Costs incurred during the post-implementation or operation phase, such as training and maintenance costs, are expensed as incurred. In addition, costs incurred to modify existing software that result in additional functionality are capitalized as incurred. Capitalized costs are amortized over the expected useful life of the asset. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-15, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - Internal-Use Software (Subtopic 350-40), Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract . This new guidance requires a customer in a cloud computing arrangement (i.e., hosting arrangement) that is a service contract to follow the internal-use software guidance in ASC 350-40 to determine which implementation costs to capitalize as assets or expense as incurred. Also, capitalized implementation costs related to a hosting arrangement that is a service contract will be amortized over the term of the hosting arrangement, beginning when the module or component of the hosting arrangement is ready for its intended use. 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 in the arrangement. Most leases with a term greater than one year are recognized on the balance sheet as right-of-use assets and short-term and long-term lease liabilities, as applicable. The Company has elected not to recognize on the balance sheet leases with terms of 12 months or less. The Company typically only includes an initial lease term in its assessment of a lease arrangement. Options to renew a lease are not included in the Company’s assessment unless there is reasonable certainty that the Company will renew. The Company monitors its plans to renew its material leases on a quarterly basis. Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the expected remaining lease term. Certain adjustments to the right-of-use asset may be required for items such as incentives received. The interest rate implicit in the Company’s leases is typically not readily determinable. As a result, the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate, which reflects the fixed rate at which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis the amount of the lease payments in the same currency, for a similar term and in a similar economic environment. In transition to FASB ASC Topic 842, Leases (“ASC 842”), the Company utilized the remaining lease term of its leases in determining the appropriate incremental borrowing rates. In accordance with ASC 842, components of a lease should be allocated between lease components (e.g., land, building, etc.) and non-lease components (e.g., common area maintenance, consumables, etc.). The fixed and in-substance fixed contract consideration (including any consideration related to non-components) must be allocated based on the respective relative fair values to the lease components and non-lease components. Although separation of lease and non-lease components is required, certain expedients are available. Entities may elect the practical expedient to not separate lease and non-lease components by class of underlying asset where entities would account for each lease component and the related non-lease component together as a single component. For new and amended leases beginning in 2019 and after, the Company has elected to account for the lease and non-lease components for leases, for classes of all underlying assets, and allocate all of the contract consideration to the lease component only. Long-lived assets The Company reviews the recoverability of all long-lived assets, including the related useful lives, whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of a long-lived asset might not be recoverable. If required, the Company compares the estimated undiscounted future net cash flows to the related asset’s carrying value to determine whether there has been an impairment. If an asset is considered impaired, the asset is written down to fair value, which is based either on discounted cash flows or appraised values in the period the impairment becomes known. The Company believes that all long-lived assets are recoverable, and no impairment was deemed necessary at December 31, 2023 and 2022 . Goodwill The Company tests its goodwill for impairment annually, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred, by comparing its reporting unit’s carrying value to its fair value. Impairment may result from, among other things, deterioration in the performance of the acquired business, adverse market conditions, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations and a variety of other circumstances. If the Company determines that an impairment has occurred, it is required to record a write-down of the carrying value and charge the impairment as an operating expense in the period the determination is made. In evaluating the recoverability of the carrying value of goodwill, the Company must make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the acquired assets. Changes in strategy or market conditions could significantly impact those judgments in the future and require an adjustment to the recorded balances. The Company has a single reporting unit, which is the level that the goodwill impairment test is performed. There was no impairment of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022. As of December 31, 2023 , $ 14.9 million of goodwill was associated with a reporting unit with zero or negative carrying value. As the reporting unit had a positive fair value, there was no impairment associated with this reporting unit. Fair value of financial instruments The Company provides disclosure of financial assets and financial liabilities that are carried at fair value based on the price that would be received upon sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value measurements may be classified based on the amount of subjectivity associated with the inputs to fair valuation of these assets and liabilities using the following three levels: Level 1 — Inputs are unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access at the measurement date. 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 — Unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s estimates of the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. The Company develops these inputs based on the best information available, including its own data. The following tables present information about the Company’s cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, measured at fair value on a recurring basis and indicates the fair value hierarchy of the valuation techniques the Company utilized to determine such fair value:
December 31, 2023
Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Cash equivalents $ 27,351,596 $ 27,351,596 $ — $ —
Total fair value $ 27,351,596 $ 27,351,596 $ — $ —
December 31, 2022
Total Level 1 Level 2 Level 3
Cash equivalents $ 34,557,146 $ 34,557,146 $ — $ —
Total fair value $ 34,557,146 $ 34,557,146 $ — $ — Cash equivalents include short-term, highly-liquid instruments, consisting of money market accounts and short-term investments with maturities from the date of purchase of 90 days or less. The majority of cash and cash equivalents are maintained with major financial institutions in North America. Deposits with these financial institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits. These deposits may be redeemed upon demand which reduces counterparty performance risk. The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts payable, accrued expenses and liabilities related to the sale of future royalties. The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximate fair value because of their short-term nature. Revenue recognition The Company applies the revenue recognition guidance in accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers . Revenue is recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred and title has passed, the price is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. The Company is a development stage company and has had no revenues from product sales to date. When the Company enters into an arrangement that meets the definition of a collaboration under ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements , the Company recognizes revenue as research and development is performed and its respective share of the expenses are incurred. The Company assesses whether the arrangement contains multiple elements or deliverables, which may include (1) licenses to the Company's technology, (2) research and development activities performed for the collaboration partner, and (3) participation on joint steering committees. Payments may include non-refundable, upfront payments, milestone payments upon achieving significant development events, and royalties on future sales. Each required deliverable is evaluated to determine whether it qualifies as a separate unit of accounting based on whether the deliverable has “stand-alone value” to the customer. The arrangement’s consideration is then allocated to each separate unit of accounting based on the relative selling price of each deliverable. The estimated selling price of each deliverable is determined using the following hierarchy of values: (i) vendor-specific objective evidence of fair value, (ii) third-party evidence of selling price, and (iii) best estimate of selling price. The best estimate of selling price reflects the Company’s best estimate of what the selling price would be if the deliverable was regularly sold by the Company on a stand-alone basis. The consideration allocated to each unit of accounting is then recognized as the related goods or services are delivered, limited to the consideration that is not contingent upon future deliverables. Supply or service transactions may involve the charge of a nonrefundable initial fee with subsequent periodic payments for future products or services. The up-front fees, even if nonrefundable, are recognized as revenue as the products and/or services are delivered and performed over the term of the arrangement. Liability related to the sale of future royalties The Company treats the sale of future royalties to Royalty Pharma as a debt financing, as the Company has significant continuing involvement in facilitating the transfer of royalties to Royalty Pharma and Royalty Pharma has recourse against the Company relating to the payments due from Janssen. As a result, the Company recorded the upfront payment of $ 60 million from this transaction as a liability related to the sale of future royalties, and up to an additional $ 95 million in potential milestone payments will also be recorded as a liability related to the sale of future royalties and amortized as interest expense over the estimated remaining life of the agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, all payments from Royalty Pharma to the Company, including the initial upfront payment of $ 60 million as well as amortized interest expense and potential milestone payments, are not repayable to Royalty Pharma in the event that Janssen discontinues the clinical development of seltorexant or ceases to pursue its commercialization at a future date for any reason. The liability related to sale of future royalties and the related interest expense is based on our current estimates of future royalties expected to be paid over the life of the arrangement. The Company will periodically assess the expected royalty payments using a combination of internal projections and forecasts from external sources. To the extent the Company’s future estimates of royalty payments are greater or less than previous estimates or the estimated timing of such payments is materially different than its previous estimates, the Company will prospectively recognize related non-cash interest expense. For further discussion of the sale of future royalties, please refer to Note 5, Sale of Future Royalties. Segment information Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise (business activity from which it earns revenue and incurs expenses) about which discrete financial information is available and regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company’s chief decision maker, who is the Chief Executive Officer, reviews operating results to make decisions about allocating resources and assessing performance for the entire Company. The Company views its operations and manages its business as one operating segment. Comprehensive loss The Company had no items of comprehensive loss other than its net loss for each period presented. |
