Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain information and disclosures required by GAAP for annual financial statements have been omitted. In the opinion of management, all adjustments, consisting of normal recurring adjustments considered necessary for fair presentation, have been included. Interim financial results are not necessarily indicative of results anticipated for the full year. The preparation of the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s unaudited condensed financial statements and accompanying notes. Although these estimates are based on the Company’s knowledge of current events and actions it may undertake in the future, actual results may significantly differ from these estimates and assumptions. Significant estimates and assumptions include the fair value of the 2021 Convertible Notes, the fair value of the liability for the SVB Warrant, the fair value of the Company’s preferred and common stock, stock-based compensation and the useful lives of property and equipment. Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include cash readily available in checking, savings, money market and sweep accounts. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Restricted Cash Restricted cash is held in a separate restricted bank account as the collateral for the security deposits on three executed lease agreements and as the collateral on the Company’s corporate credit card program. The Company has classified restricted cash as noncurrent on its balance sheets. The following table provides a reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the balance sheets (in thousands): September 30, December 31, Cash and cash equivalents $ 239,263 $ 11,688 Restricted cash 687 482 Total $ 239,950 $ 12,170 Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments, which potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk, consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held. Short-term Investments As of September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020, short-term investments primarily consisted of corporate debt securities and asset-backed securities. The Company classifies its investments in securities as available-for-sale because, for accounting purposes, they are not considered to be either held-to-maturity securities or trading securities. They are not considered to be held-to-maturity securities because the Company does not have the positive intent to hold those securities to maturity. They are not considered trading securities because they are not acquired with the intent of selling them within hours or days. The Company’s investments in securities are classified as current as they are available for use in current operations. Short-term investments are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses included in other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity until realized. The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity and recorded as interest income. Realized gains and losses are determined using the specific identification method and are included in other income (expense). The following tables summarize the short-term investments held at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (in thousands): September 30, 2021 Amortized Gross Estimated Asset-backed securities $ 28,377 $ ( 9 ) $ 28,368 Corporate debt securities 89,378 4 89,382 $ 117,755 $ ( 5 ) $ 117,750 December 31, 2020 Amortized Gross Estimated Asset-backed securities $ 3,938 $ 5 $ 3,943 Corporate debt securities 11,276 12 11,288 $ 15,214 $ 17 $ 15,231 The following table summarizes contractual maturities of available-for-sale securities held at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020 (in thousands): September 30, December 31, Estimated Estimated Due within one year $ 85,263 $ 9,559 After one but within five years 32,487 5,672 Total $ 117,750 $ 15,231 The Company determined there was no other-than-temporary impairment of any of its investments. Property and Equipment, Net Property and equipment, net, which consists primarily of lab equipment, computers and software, furniture and fixtures and leasehold improvements, are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets (generally three to five years ). Leasehold improvements are amortized over the remaining life of the lease or the useful life of the asset, whichever is shorter. Repairs and maintenance costs are charged to expense as incurred. Deferred Rent Rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The difference between rent expense and amounts paid under the lease agreement is deferred and recorded in other current and noncurrent liabilities in the accompanying balance sheets. Impairment of Long-lived Assets Long-lived assets consist primarily of property and equipment. The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured as the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Fair value would be assessed using discounted cash flows or other appropriate measures of fair value. The Company did no t recognize any impairment losses for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and September 30, 2020 , respectively. Fair Value Measurements Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under GAAP and consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments, restricted cash, accounts payable, accrued liabilities, the 2021 Convertible Notes and the SVB Warrant. The carrying amounts of cash, cash equivalents, accounts payable, and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. None of the Company’s non-financial assets or liabilities are recorded at fair value on a recurring basis. As permitted under Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 825, Financial Instruments (“ASC 825”), the Company has elected the fair value option to account for its 2021 Convertible Not es and SVB Warrant. C hanges in the fair value of the 2021 Convertible Notes and the SVB Warrant were recorded in the statements of operations. As a result of applying the fair value option, direct costs and fees related to the 2021 Convertible Notes were recognized as incurred and not deferred. In June 2021, in connection with the IPO completion, the 2021 Convertible Notes converted into the Company’s common stock and the SVB Warrant was automatically adjusted into a warrant to purchase an equivalent number of shares of common stock. There are significant judgments and estimates inherent in the determination of the fair value of these liabilities. If the Company had made different assumptions including, among others, those related to the timing and probability of various corporate scenarios, discount rates, volatilities and exit valuations, the carrying values of the 2021 Convertible Notes and SVB Warrant, and net loss and net loss per share, could have been significantly different. Research and Development Expense The Company’s research and development expense consists primarily of: salaries, payroll taxes, employee benefits and stock-based compensation for personnel engaged in research and development activities; fees paid to consultants; license fees paid to third parties for use of their intellectual property, laboratory supplies and development materials; allocated information technology and facilities costs; and depreciation. Research and development costs are charged to expense as incurred. Patent Costs Costs related to filing and pursuing patent applications are recorded as selling, general and administrative expenses within the Company’s statements of operations and expensed as incurred since recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain . Issuance Costs Related to Equity and Debt The Company allocates issuance costs between the individual freestanding instruments identified on the same basis as proceeds were allocated. Issuance costs associated with the issuance of debt is recorded as a direct reduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability, limited to the notional value of the debt. The Company accounts for the Silicon Valley Bank loan (see Note 6) as a liability measured at amortized cost and amortizes the related debt discount to interest expense using the effective interest method over the expected term of the debt. Stock-based Compensation The Company accounts for stock-based compensation by measuring and recognizing compensation expense for all stock-based awards made to employees and non-employees based on estimated grant-date fair values. The Company uses the straight-line method to recognize compensation cost over the required service period of the award, which is generally the vesting period of the award. The Company recognizes actual forfeitures by reducing the stock-based compensation in the same period that the forfeitures occur. The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based option awards to employees and non-employees using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The Black-Scholes option pricing model requires the input of subjective assumptions, including the fair value of common stock, expected term, expected volatility, risk-free interest rate and expected dividend yield, which are described in greater detail below. Inputs to the Black-Scholes option pricing model are subjective and generally require the use of judgment. Changes in the assumptions can materially affect how much stock-based compensation is recognized. These inputs are as follows: Fair value of common stock — For awards granted prior to the IPO, when there was no public market for the Company’s common stock, the grant date fair value of the Company’s common stock was determined by the Company’s board of directors based in part on valuations of the Company’s common stock prepared by a third-party valuation specialist. In connection with the preparation of the financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company performed a retrospective review of the fair value of its common stock based on information then available. For awards granted after the IPO, the fair value of common stock is the closing price per share of the Company’s common stock on the grant date as reported on the Nasdaq Global Select Market. Expected term —The expected term represents the average period that options granted are expected to be outstanding and is determined using the simplified method (based on the mid-point between the weighted-average vesting period and the end of the contractual term). The Company uses the simplified method because the Company has concluded that its historical option exercise experience does not provide a reasonable basis to estimate expected term. Expected volatility —The Company had no publicly available stock price information prior to its IPO and limited publicly available stock price information after its IPO; therefore, the Company used the historical volatility of the stock price of similar publicly traded companies. The historical volatility is calculated based on a period of time commensurate with the expected term. Risk-free interest rate —The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury zero coupon issues in effect at the time of grant for periods corresponding with the expected term. Expected dividend yield —The Company has never paid dividends and does not intend to pay dividends in the foreseeable future. Therefore, the Company used an expected dividend yield of zero. Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between the financial statements and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized as income or expense in the period that includes the enactment date. The Company recognizes net deferred tax assets to the extent that the Company believes these assets are more likely than not to be realized. In making such a determination, management considers all available positive and negative evidence, including future reversals of existing taxable temporary differences, projected future taxable income, tax-planning strategies and results of recent operations. If management determines that the Company would be able to realize its deferred tax assets in the future in excess of their net recorded amount, management would make an adjustment to the deferred tax asset valuation allowance, which would reduce any provision for income taxes. The Company records uncertain tax positions on the basis of a two-step process whereby: (i) management determines whether it is more likely than not that the tax positions will be sustained on the basis of the technical merits of the position; and (ii) for those tax positions that meet the more-likely-than-not recognition threshold, management recognizes the largest amount of tax benefit that is more than 50% likely to be realized upon ultimate settlement with the related tax authority. The Company will recognize interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits within income tax expense. Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) is defined as a change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. The only component of other comprehensive income (loss) is unrealized gain (loss) on available-for-sale securities, which have been reflected in the statements of comprehensive loss and as a separate component in the statements of preferred stock and stockholders’ equity (deficit). Net Loss per Share In periods of net loss, basic loss per share is computed by dividing net loss available to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period, without consideration for potentially dilutive securities. For periods prior to the IPO, the convertible preferred stock contain non-forfeitable rights to dividends with the common stockholders, and therefore are considered to be participating securities. Outstanding stock options, the SVB Warrant, convertible preferred stock and shares of common stock subject to repurchase by the Company are excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per common share for the periods presented as their effect would be anti-dilutive. Thus, for all periods presented, there is no difference in the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted net loss per share. Segment Information Operating segments are components of a public entity that: (a) engage in business activities from which they may recognize revenues and incur expenses; (b) have operating results that are regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance; and (c) have discrete financial information available. The Company views its operations and manages its business as one operating segment, and thus has one reportable segment. The Company’s long-lived assets are located in the United States. Recent Accounting Pronouncements—Not Yet Adopted In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (“ASU 2016-02”). The standard establishes a right-of-use model and requires a lessee to recognize on the balance sheet a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability for all leases with terms longer than 12 months. For lessees, leases will be classified as either finance or operating, with classification affecting the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement. ASU 2016-02 is effective for the Company’s annual periods beginning after December 15, 2021, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2022, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its financial statements and related disclosures. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments–Credit Losses: Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU 2016-13”), which amends the impairment model by requiring entities to use a forward-looking approach based on expected losses to estimate credit losses on certain types of financial instruments, including trade receivables and available-for-sale debt securities. ASU 2016-13 is effective for the Company’s annual periods beginning after December 15, 2022, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the adoption of this guidance will have on its financial statements and related disclosures. In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-18 (“ASU 2018-18”), which clarifies the interaction between ASC Topic 808, Collaborative Arrangements , and ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers . This guidance, among other items, clarifies that certain transactions between collaborative participants should be accounted for as revenue under Topic 606 when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer in the context of a unit of account. ASU 2018-18 is effective for the Company’s fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The Company does not expect the impact of the adoption of this standard to materially impact its financial statements and related disclosures. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU No. 2019-12, Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU 2019-12”), as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards. The ASU is effective for the Company’s fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods therein. Early adoption of the standard is permitted, including adoption in interim or annual periods for which financial statements have not yet been issued. The Company does not expect the impact of the adoption of this standard to materially impact its financial statements and related disclosures. |