Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 10-Q and Rule 10-01 of Regulation S-X. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP, have been omitted. The accompanying unaudited financial statements include all known adjustments necessary for a fair presentation of the results of interim periods as required by GAAP. These adjustments consist primarily of normal recurring accruals and estimates that impact the carrying value of assets and liabilities. Operating results for the period ended September 30, 2020 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2020, particularly in light of the novel coronavirus pandemic, or COVID-19, and its impact on domestic and global economies. To limit the spread of COVID-19, governments have taken various actions including the issuance of stay-at-home orders and physical distancing guidelines. Accordingly, businesses have adjusted, reduced or suspended operating activities. Beginning the week of March 16, 2020, the majority of the Company’s workforce began working from home. Disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, including The accompanying unaudited financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the related notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2019, which are included in the Company’s final prospectus filed with the SEC pursuant to Rule 424(b)(4) on April 24 , 2020 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the Securities Act). In the third quarter of 2020, the Company began reporting deferred offering costs within its other assets on its balance sheets. To conform to current presentation, the Company included $1.3 million of deferred financing costs at December 31, 2019 in other assets. This reclassification had no effect on the Company’s total assets, net loss or stockholders’ equity (deficit) as previously reported. Use of Estimates The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s financial statements and accompanying notes. These estimates and assumptions are based on current facts, historical experience and various other factors believed to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities and the recording of expenses that are not readily apparent from other sources. Actual results may differ materially from these estimates. Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk, consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of default by the financial institutions holding its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities that are recorded on its balance sheets. The Company mitigates its risk by investing in high-grade instruments and limiting the concentration in any one issuer, which limits its exposure. The carrying amounts of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, prepaid expenses, accounts payable and accrued other liabilities are reasonable estimates of their fair value because of the short maturity of these items. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of 90 days or less at the time of purchase that are readily convertible into cash as cash equivalents. These investments may include money market funds, securities issued by U.S. Government agencies, corporate debt securities and commercial paper. Marketable Securities Investments with maturities at the date of acquisition of more than 90 days are considered marketable securities. The Company has classified its investment holdings as available-for-sale, as the sale of such securities may be required prior to maturity to implement management’s strategies. The Company classifies its available-for-sale investment securities, including those with maturities beyond one year, as current assets on its balance sheets based on the highly liquid nature of the securities and because these investments are considered available for use in current operations. Marketable Research and Development Expenses and Accrued Research and Development Expenses The Company is required to estimate its expenses resulting from its obligations under contracts with vendors, consultants, contract research organizations (CRO), and contract manufacturing organizations (CMO) in connection with conducting research and development activities. The financial terms of these contracts vary from contract to contract and may result in payment flows that do not match the periods over which materials or services are provided under such contracts. Research and development costs are expensed in the period in which they are incurred. External costs consist primarily of payments to outside CROs, CMOs, clinical trial sites and central laboratories in connection with the Company’s discovery and preclinical activities, process development, clinical manufacturing and clinical development activities. External expenses are recognized based on an evaluation of the progress to completion of specific tasks using information provided to the Company by its service providers or its estimate of the level of service that has been performed at each reporting date. The Company allocates external costs by program, clinical or preclinical. Internal costs consist primary of employee-related costs, laboratory supplies, facilities, depreciation and costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements. The Company does not allocate internal costs by program because these costs are deployed across multiple programs and, as such, are not separately classified. License Fees Acquisitions of technology licenses are charged to acquired in-process research and development expense or capitalized based upon the asset achieving technological feasibility in accordance with management’s assessment regarding the ultimate recoverability of the amounts paid and the potential for alternative future use. Deferred Offering Costs The Company capitalizes costs that are directly associated with equity financings until such financings are consummated at which time such costs are recorded against the gross proceeds of the offering. Should an in-process equity financing be abandoned, the deferred offering costs will be expensed immediately as a charge to operating expenses in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Net Loss Per Share Basic net loss per common share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, without consideration of potentially dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and potentially dilutive securities outstanding for the period. As the Company has reported a net loss for all periods presented, diluted net loss per common share is the same as basic net loss per common share for those periods. The following table sets forth the computation of the basic and diluted net loss per share (in thousands, except share and per share amounts). Three Months Ended September 30, Nine Months Ended September 30, 2020 2019 2020 2019 Numerator Net loss $ (25,548 ) $ (6,549 ) $ (45,444 ) $ (18,529 ) Denominator Weighted average shares outstanding used in computing net loss per share, basic and diluted 30,314,904 1,946,439 18,022,068 1,876,687 Net loss per share, basic and diluted $ (0.84 ) $ (3.36 ) $ (2.52 ) $ (9.87 ) The following outstanding shares of potentially dilutive securities were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders for the periods presented because including them would have been anti-dilutive: As of September 30, 2020 2019 Options to purchase common stock 3,959,693 2,251,594 Convertible preferred stock — 19,278,606 Total 3,959,693 21,530,200 Recent Accounting Pronouncements From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) under its accounting standard codifications (ASC) or other standard setting bodies and adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date, unless otherwise discussed below. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No 2019-12 , Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes , as part of its simplification initiative to reduce the cost and complexity in accounting for income taxes. The amendments in ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions related to the approach for intraperiod tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. ASU 2019-12 also amends other aspects of the guidance to help simplify and promote consistent application of GAAP. The guidance is effective for interim and annual periods beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. For emerging growth companies (EGCs), the standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The Company early adopted the new standard in 2020 which had no material effect on the Company’s current financial position, results of operations or financial statement disclosures. New Accounting Pronouncements Not Yet Adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses ( Topic 326 ) (ASC 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments , which introduced the expected credit losses methodology for the |