Summary of significant accounting policies | 2. Summary of significant accounting policies Unaudited interim financial statements The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared by the Company in accordance with GAAP for interim financial reporting and as required by Regulation S-X, Rule 10‑01. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the Company’s audited annual financial statements and, in the opinion of management, reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position as of March 31, 2020 and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 and the condensed consolidated statement of stockholders’ equity (deficit) as of March 31, 2020. The financial data and other information disclosed in these notes related to the three months ended March 31, 2020 and 2019 are unaudited. The results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020, any other interim periods, or any future year or period. Use of estimates The preparation of the Company's condensed consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the condensed consolidated financial statements, and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these condensed consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual of research and development expenses, the valuations of common stock and the valuation allowance for deferred tax assets. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, known trends and other market-specific or other relevant factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates when there are changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and cash equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents consist primarily of amounts invested in money market accounts. Short-term marketable securities The Company invests in short-term marketable securities, primarily money market funds, commercial paper, U.S. treasury securities and corporate debt securities. The Company classifies its short-term marketable securities as available-for-sale securities and reports them at fair value in short-term marketable securities on the consolidated balance sheets with related unrealized gains and losses included within accumulated other comprehensive gain (loss) on the consolidated balance sheets. The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity, which is included in other income (expense), net on the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Realized gains and losses and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary, if any, on available-for-sale securities are included in other income (expense), net. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in other income (expense), net. The Company regularly reviews all its investments for other-than-temporary declines in estimated fair value. This review includes the consideration of the cause of the impairment, including the creditworthiness of the security issuers, the number of securities in an unrealized loss position, the severity and duration of the unrealized losses, whether the Company has the intent to sell the securities and whether it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the securities before the recovery of their amortized cost basis. When the Company determines that the decline in estimated fair value of an investment is below the amortized cost basis and the decline is other-than-temporary, the carrying value of the security will be reduced and a loss will be recorded for the amount of such decline. Concentrations of credit risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist principally of cash, cash equivalents and short-term marketable securities. Periodically, the Company maintains deposits in accredited financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company deposits its cash investments in financial institutions that it believes have high credit quality and has not experienced any losses on such accounts and does not believe it is exposed to any unusual credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. Leases Leases (Topic 842) Effective January 1, 2020 The Company determines whether an arrangement is or contains a lease at inception by assessing whether the arrangement contains an identified asset and whether the Company has the right to control the identified asset. Right-of-use, or ROU, assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the present value of future lease payments over the lease term. ROU assets are based on the measurement of the lease liability and are further adjusted by any lease payments made prior to or on lease commencement, lease incentives received and initial direct costs incurred, as applicable. The Company elected, as allowed under Topic 842 (or “ASC 842”), to not recognize leases with a lease term of one year or less on its balance sheet. Operating lease costs included in the measurement of the lease are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Variable lease costs are expensed as incurred as an operating expense. In accordance with ASC 842, components of a lease should be split into three categories: lease components, non-lease components, and non-components. 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. Entities may elect not to separate lease and non-lease components. Accordingly, entities making this election would account for each lease component and related non-lease component together as a single lease component. The Company has elected to account for lease and non-lease components together as a single lease component for all underlying assets and allocate all of the contract consideration to the lease component only. ASC 842 allows for the use of judgment in determining whether the assumed lease term is for a major part of the remaining economic life of the underlying asset and whether the present value of lease payments represents substantially all of the fair value of the underlying asset. The Company applies the bright line thresholds referenced in ASC 842-10-55-2 to assist in evaluating leases for appropriate classification. The aforementioned bright lines are applied consistently to the Company’s leases. The Company determines the lease classification and the present value of future lease payments at the time of the lease commencement using an incremental borrowing rate that it estimates based upon the Company’s credit risk and term of the lease. The interest rate implicit in lease contracts has not historically been readily determinable and the Company must therefore use the appropriate incremental borrowing rate to measure its leases. To estimate the incremental borrowing rate, a credit rating applicable to the Company is estimated using a synthetic credit rating analysis since the Company does not currently have a rating agency-based credit rating. Additionally, a notching method is utilized to apply an upward adjustment to the resulting credit rating to reflect a collateralized borrowing. Leases (Topic 840) Prior to the Adoption of Topic 842 The Company enters into lease agreements for office facilities which are classified as operating leases. Rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the noncancelable term of the lease and, accordingly, the Company records the difference between cash rent payments and the recognition of rent expense as a deferred rent liability, which is included within accrued expenses and other current liabilities on the condensed consolidated balance sheet. Research and development costs Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred to discover, research and develop drug candidates, including personnel expenses, stock-based compensation expense, third-party license fees and external costs including fees paid to consultants and clinical research organizations ("CROs"), in connection with drug product manufacturing, nonclinical studies and clinical trials, and other related clinical trial fees, such as for investigator grants, patient screening, laboratory work, clinical trial database management, clinical trial material management and statistical compilation and analysis. Non-refundable prepayments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. Such amounts are recognized as an expense as the goods are delivered or the related services are performed, or until it is no longer expected that the goods will be delivered or the services rendered. Costs incurred i n obtaining technology licenses are charged immediately to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached technological feasibility and has no alternative future uses. Research contract costs and accruals The Company has entered into various research and development and other agreements with commercial firms, researchers and others for provisions of goods and services. These agreements are generally cancelable, and the related costs are recorded as research and development expenses as incurred. The Company records accruals for estimated ongoing research and development costs. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, the Company analyzes progress of the studies or clinical trials, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Significant judgments and estimates are made in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ materially from the Company's estimates. Stock-based compensation The Company measures all stock-based awards granted to employees and nonemployees based on the fair value on the date of the grant and recognizes compensation expense for those awards over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award, on a straight-line basis. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. The Company estimates the fair value of stock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Prior to the Company’s initial public offering, the exercise price for all stock options granted was at the estimated fair value of the underlying common stock as determined on the date of grant by the Company’s board of directors. The fair value of each stock option grant is estimated on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model, which requires inputs based on certain subjective assumptions, including the expected stock price volatility, the expected term of the option, the risk-free interest rate for a period that approximates the expected term of the option, and the Company's expected dividend yield. The Company completed its initial public offering in June 2019 and accordingly, lacks sufficient company-specific historical and implied volatility information for its shares traded in the public markets. Therefore, it estimates its expected share price volatility based on the historical volatility of publicly traded peer companies and expects to continue to do so until such time as it has adequate historical data regarding the volatility of its own traded share price. The expected term of the Company's stock options has been determined utilizing the "simplified" method for awards that qualify as "plain-vanilla" options. The risk-free interest rate is determined by reference to the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant of the award for time periods approximately equal to the expected term of the award. Expected dividend yield is based on the fact that the Company has never paid cash dividends on common stock and does not expect to pay any cash dividends in the foreseeable future. The fair value of each restricted common stock award is estimated on the date of grant based on the fair value of the Company's common stock on that same date. Compensation expense for purchases under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan is recognized based on the fair value of the common stock estimated based on the closing price of our common stock as reported on the date of offering, less the purchase discount percentage provided for in the plan. The Company classifies stock-based compensation expense in its consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss in the same manner in which the award recipient's payroll costs are classified or in which the award recipient's service payments are classified. Comprehensive loss Comprehensive loss includes net loss as well as other changes in stockholders' equity (deficit) that result from transactions and economic events other than those with stockholders. Our comprehensive loss is comprised of net loss and unrealized gains and losses on our short-term marketable securities . Emerging growth company The Company is an emerging growth company as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, companies have extended transition periods available for complying with new or revised accounting standards. The Company has elected this exemption to delay adopting new or revised accounting standards until such time as those standards apply. Recently adopted accounting pronouncements In February 2016 the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842, ASC 842 or ASU 2016-02). ASU 2016-02 amends several aspects of lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize almost all leases with a term greater than one year as a ROU asset and corresponding liability, measured at the present value of the lease payments. On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted Topic 842 using the modified retrospective approach and the adoption date as the initial date of application. Results for the three months ended March 31, 2020 are presented under Topic 842. No prior period amounts were adjusted and continue to be reported in accordance with previous lease guidance, Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840, Leases, or Topic 840. Topic 842 provides a number of optional practical expedients in transition. The Company elected the short-term lease expedient for leases with a term of one year or less, which permits a lessee to not recognize lease assets and lease liabilities for those leases. The Company elected the practical expedients to not reassess its prior conclusions about lease identification under the new standard, to not reassess lease classification, and to not reassess initial direct costs for its existing leases at adoption. Operating lease liabilities and their corresponding ROU assets are recorded based on the present value of future lease payments over the expected remaining lease term at lease commencement. In transition to ASC 842, the Company utilized the remaining lease term of its leases, as of the effective date, in determining the appropriate incremental borrowing rate. Lease cost for operating leases is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term as an operating expense. The impact of the Company’s adoption of Topic 842 on the accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of January 1, 2020 was as follows: Adjustments Due to the December 31, Adoption of January 1, 2019 Topic 842 2020 Assets: Operating lease ROU asset $ — $ 280 $ 280 Liabilities: Operating lease liabilities, current (included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities) — 224 224 Deferred rent, current (included in accrued expenses and other current liabilities) 2 (2) — Operating lease liabilities, noncurrent (included in other liabilities) — 60 60 Deferred rent, noncurrent (included in other liabilities) 2 (2) — The Company adopted Accounting Standards Update No. ASU 2018‑13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820)—Disclosure Framework (“ASU 2018‑13”) on January 1, 2020. The adoption of ASU 2018-13 did not have a material impact on the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. In March 2020, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ASU 2020-03, “Codification Improvements to Financial Instruments” (“ASU 2020-03”). ASU 2020-03 improves a variety of codification topics by eliminating inconsistencies and providing clarifications making the codification easier to apply. The conforming amendments are effective upon issuance and did not materially impact the Company’s condensed consolidated financial statements. |