Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies) | 12 Months Ended |
Dec. 31, 2020 |
Accounting Policies [Abstract] | |
Basis of Presentation | Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative United States generally accepted accounting principles as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). |
Principles of Consolidation | Principles of Consolidation The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the operations of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated. |
Use of Estimates | 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, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results may differ from those estimates. |
Cash and Cash Equivalents | Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash includes cash in readily available checking accounts. The Company’s cash deposits on hand at one financial institution often exceed federally insured limits. Cash equivalents include all highly liquid investments maturing within 90 days from the date of purchase. |
Restricted Cash | Restricted Cash Restricted cash is cash that is restricted as to withdrawal or use under the terms of certain contractual agreements. The restricted cash consists of cash collateral for secured letters of credit for the security deposit on the Company’s leased laboratory and office facilities. |
Concentrations of Credit Risk and of Significant Suppliers | Concentrations of Credit Risk and of Significant Suppliers Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s cash equivalents as of December 31, 2020 consisted only of money market funds. The Company does not believe that it is subject to unusual credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. The Company relies, and expects to continue to rely, on a small number of vendors to manufacture supplies and raw materials for its development programs. These programs could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in these manufacturing services or the availability of raw materials. |
Property and Equipment | Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets. Laboratory and office equipment, computer equipment and furniture and fixtures are depreciated over a period of five years, and leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the asset’s estimated useful life or the remaining lease term. Major additions and betterments are capitalized; maintenance and repairs, which do not improve or extend the life of the respective assets, are charged to operating expenses as incurred. |
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets | Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the asset may not be recoverable. When such events occur, the Company compares the carrying amounts of the assets to their undiscounted expected future cash flows. If this comparison indicates that there is an impairment, the amount of the impairment is calculated as the difference between the carrying value and the fair value. The Company has not recorded any impairment charges in the periods presented. |
Segment Information | Segment Information Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is the chief executive officer (“CEO”). The Company and CEO view the Company’s operations and manage its business as one operating segment. |
Collaboration Revenue | Collaboration Revenue The Company analyzes its collaboration arrangements to assess whether they are within the scope of ASC Topic 808, Collaborative Arrangements Revenue from Contracts with Customers The Company recognizes revenue after applying the following five steps: 1) Identification of the contract, or contracts, with a customer, 2) Identification of the performance obligations in the contract, including whether they are distinct within the context of the contract 3) Determination of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration 4) Allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract 5) Recognition of revenue when, or as, performance obligations are satisfied If a contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606 at inception, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within such contract, determines which of those goods and services are performance obligations, and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. Promised goods and services are considered distinct provided that: (i) the customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer (that is, the good or service is capable of being distinct) and (ii) the entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract (that is, the promise to transfer the good or service is distinct within the context of the contract). In assessing whether a promised good or service is distinct, the Company considers factors such as the research, manufacturing and commercialization capabilities of the collaboration partner and the availability of the associated expertise in the general marketplace. The Company also considers the intended benefit of the contract in assessing whether a promised good or service is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract. If a promised good or service is not distinct, an entity is required to combine that good or service with other promised goods or services until it identifies a bundle of goods or services that is distinct. The Company may provide options to additional goods or services in such arrangements exercisable at a customer’s discretion. The Company assesses if these options provide a material right to the customer and if so, they are considered performance obligations. The identification of material rights requires judgments related to the determination of the value of the underlying good and services to the option exercise price. The Company determines transaction price based on the amount of consideration the Company expects to receive for transferring the promised goods or services in the contract. Consideration may be fixed, variable, or a combination of both. The Company then allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation based on the relative standalone selling prices (“SSP”). SSP is determined at contract inception and is not updated to reflect changes between contract inception and when the performance obligations are satisfied. In developing the SSP for a performance obligation, the Company considers applicable market conditions and relevant entity-specific factors, including factors that were contemplated in negotiating the agreement with the customer and estimated costs. If the consideration promised in a contract includes a variable amount, the Company estimates the amount of consideration to which it will be entitled by using the expected value method or the most likely amount method. The Company includes the unconstrained amount of estimated variable consideration in the transaction price. The amount included in the transaction price is constrained to the amount for which it is probable that a significant reversal of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the estimated variable consideration included in the transaction price and any related constraint, and if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. The Company then 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, either at a point in time or over time, and if over time recognition is based on the use of an output or input method. Amounts received prior to satisfying the revenue recognition criteria are recorded as deferred revenue in the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. If the related performance obligation is expected to be satisfied within the next twelve months this will be classified in current liabilities. Amounts recognized as revenue prior to receipt are recorded as other current assets in the Company's balance sheets. If the Company expects to have an unconditional right to receive the consideration in the next twelve months, this will be classified in other current assets. |
Research and Development Costs | Research and Development Costs Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including salaries and bonuses, stock‑based compensation, employee benefits, facilities costs, laboratory supplies, depreciation, manufacturing expenses and external costs of vendors engaged to conduct preclinical development activities and clinical trials, as well as the cost of licensing technology. Upfront payments and milestone payments made for the licensing of technology are expensed as research and development in the period in which they are incurred. Advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed. |
Research and Manufacturing Contract Costs and Accruals | Research and Manufacturing Contract Costs and Accruals The Company has entered into various research and development and manufacturing contracts. These agreements are generally cancelable, and related payments are recorded as the corresponding expenses are incurred. The Company records accruals for estimated ongoing costs. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, the Company analyzes progress of the research studies or clinical trials and manufacturing activities, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Significant judgments and estimates may be required in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ from the Company’s estimates. The Company’s historical accrual estimates have not been materially different from the actual costs. |
Patent Costs | Patent Costs All patent‑related costs incurred in connection with filing and prosecuting patent applications are expensed as incurred due to the uncertainty about the recovery of the expenditure. Amounts incurred are classified as general and administrative expenses. |
Income Taxes | Income Taxes Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax asset to an amount, which, more likely than not, will be realized. The Company recognizes the tax benefit from any uncertain tax positions only if it is more likely than not that the tax position will be sustained on examination by the taxing authorities, based on the technical merits of the position. The tax benefits recognized in the consolidated financial statements from such a position are measured based on the largest benefit that has a greater than fifty percent likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. |
Fair Value Measurements | Fair Value Measurements Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value. Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable: • Level 1 – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible to the reporting entity at the measurement date for identical assets and liabilities. • Level 2 – Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. Level 2 inputs include the following: • 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 • observable inputs other than quoted prices that are used in the valuation of the asset or liabilities (e.g., interest rate and yield curve quotes at commonly quoted intervals) • inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means • Level 3 – Unobservable inputs for the assets or liability (i.e., supported by little or no market activity). Level 3 inputs include management’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability (including assumptions about risk). The carrying amount of the Company’s other financial assets and liabilities including cash, accounts payable and long-term debt approximate fair value because of the relatively short period of time between origination and expected realization or settlement. |
Net Loss Per Share | Net Loss Per Share Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted net loss is computed by adjusting net loss to reallocate undistributed earnings based on the potential impact of dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the diluted net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, including potential dilutive common shares assuming the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents. The following table presents securities that have been excluded from the computations of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding as they would be anti-dilutive due to the net losses: As of December 31, 2020 2019 Options to purchase common stock 6,978,447 7,235,581 Unvested restricted stock units 316,249 50,000 Unvested restricted common stock — 1,250 7,294,696 7,286,831 |
Stock-Based Compensation | Stock-Based Compensation For stock-based awards, the Company measures the estimated fair value of the stock-based award on the date of grant and recognizes compensation expense for those awards over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective award. For stock-based awards with service-based vesting conditions, the Company records the expense for these awards using the straight-line method. For stock options with performance-based vesting conditions, the Company records the expense for these awards over the requisite service period using an accelerated attribution method to the extent the achievement of the performance condition is probable. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. The Company classifies stock-based compensation expense in its consolidated statements of operations in the same manner in which the award recipient’s cash compensation costs are classified. |
Comprehensive Loss | Comprehensive Loss Comprehensive loss includes net loss as well as other changes in stockholders’ equity that result from transactions and economic events other than those with stockholders. The Company’s comprehensive net loss equals the reported net loss for all periods presented. |
Subsequent Events | Subsequent events The Company evaluates events and/or transactions occurring after the balance sheet date and before the issue date of the financial statements to determine if any of those events and/or transactions require adjustment to or disclosure in the financial statements. |
Accounting Pronouncements Issued and Not Adopted | Accounting Pronouncements Issued and Not Adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases |