XML 25 R9.htm IDEA: XBRL DOCUMENT v3.7.0.1
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
 
Basis of Presentation: The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Lexicon and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. Intercompany transactions and balances are eliminated in consolidation.
 
Use of Estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U. S. generally accepted accounting principles requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
 
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Short-Term Investments: Lexicon considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.  As of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, short-term investments consist of U.S. treasury bills and corporate debt securities. The Company’s short-term investments are classified as available-for-sale securities and are carried at fair value, based on quoted market prices of the securities.  The Company views its available-for-sale securities as available for use in current operations regardless of the stated maturity date of the security.  Unrealized gains and losses on such securities are reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.  Net realized gains and losses, interest and dividends are included in interest income.  The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method.
 
Accounts Receivable:  Lexicon records trade accounts receivable in the normal course of business related to the sale of products or services.   The allowance for doubtful accounts takes into consideration such factors as historical write-offs, the economic climate and other factors that could affect collectibility.  Write-offs are evaluated on a case by case basis.
 
Concentration of Credit Risk: Lexicon’s cash equivalents, investments and accounts receivable represent potential concentrations of credit risk. The Company attempts to minimize potential concentrations of risk in cash equivalents and investments by placing investments in high-quality financial instruments. The Company’s accounts receivable are unsecured and are concentrated in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies located in Europe and the United States.  The Company has not experienced any significant credit losses to date.  In 2016, customers in France and the United States represented 99% and 1% of revenue, respectively. In 2015, customers in France and the United States represented 99% and 1%, respectively. In 2014, customers in France and the United States represented 94% and 6% of revenue, respectively.  At December 31, 2016, management believes that the Company has no significant concentrations of credit risk.
 
Segment Information and Significant Customers: Lexicon operates in one business segment, which primarily focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of pharmaceutical products for the treatment of human disease. Substantially all of the Company’s revenues have been derived from drug discovery alliances, target validation collaborations for the development and, in some cases, analysis of the physiological effects of genes altered in knockout mice, technology licenses, subscriptions to its databases, government grants and contracts and compound library sales. In 2016, Sanofi and Ipsen Pharma SAS (“Ipsen”) represented 90% and 9% of revenues, respectively. In 2015, Sanofi represented 98% of revenues. In 2014, Ipsen represented 94% of revenues.
 
Property and Equipment: Property and equipment that is held and used is carried at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the assets which ranges from three to 40 years.  Maintenance, repairs and minor replacements are charged to expense as incurred.  Leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of the estimated useful life or the remaining lease term.  Significant renewals and betterments are capitalized.
 
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets:  Long-lived assets and certain identifiable intangible assets to be held and used are reviewed for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to future 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 by the amount that the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Assets to be disposed of are reported at the lower of the carrying amount or fair value less costs to sell. In 2014, Lexicon reclassified its buildings and land as assets held for sale, as it intended to sell these assets, and recorded an impairment loss of $13.1 million in the year ended December 31, 2014. In the fourth quarter of 2015, Lexicon made a change to its plan of sale and reclassified its buildings and land as assets held and used in accordance with the accounting guidance regarding selling assets with a leaseback requirement, and recorded an additional impairment loss of $3.6 million in the year ended December 31, 2015 (see Note 6, Buildings and Land Held and Used). There was no impairment of long-lived assets in the year ended December 31, 2016.

Indefinite lived intangible assets are also tested annually for impairment and whenever indicators of impairment are present. When performing the impairment assessment, the Company first assesses qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to recalculate the fair value of its intangible assets. If management believes, as a result of the qualitative assessment, that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the intangible assets is less than its carrying amount, the Company calculates the asset’s fair value. If the carrying value of the asset exceeds its fair value, then the intangible asset is written down to its fair value.

Goodwill Impairment:  Goodwill is not amortized, but is tested at least annually for impairment at the reporting unit level.  The Company has determined that the reporting unit is the single operating segment disclosed in its current financial statements. Impairment is the condition that exists when the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds its implied fair value.  The first step in the impairment process is to determine the fair value of the reporting unit and then compare it to the carrying value, including goodwill.  If the fair value exceeds the carrying value, no further action is required and no impairment loss is recognized.  Additional impairment assessments may be performed on an interim basis if the Company encounters events or changes in circumstances that would indicate that, more likely than not, the carrying value of goodwill has been impaired.  There was no impairment of goodwill in 2016, 2015 or 2014.
 
Revenue Recognition: Revenues are recognized when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the price is fixed or determinable and collectibility is reasonably assured.  

Revenues under collaborative agreements include both license revenue and contract research revenue. Activities under collaborative agreements are evaluated to determine if they represent a multiple element revenue agreement. The Company identifies the deliverables included within the agreement and evaluates which deliverables represent separate units of accounting. The Company accounts for those components as separate units of accounting if the following two criteria are met:

The delivered item or items have value to the customer on a stand-alone basis; and
If there is a general right of return relative to the delivered items, delivery or performance of the undelivered items is considered probable and within the Company’s control.

Factors considered in this determination include, among other things, whether any other vendors sell the items separately and if the licensee could use the delivered item for its intended purpose without the receipt of the remaining deliverables. If multiple deliverables included in an arrangement are separable into different units of accounting, the Company allocates the arrangement consideration to those units of accounting. The amount of allocable arrangement consideration is limited to amounts that are fixed or determinable. Arrangement consideration is allocated at the inception of the arrangement to the identified units of accounting based on their relative estimated selling price. Revenue is recognized for each unit of accounting when the appropriate revenue recognition criteria are met.

Future milestone payments that are contingent upon the achievement of a substantive milestone are recognized in their entirety in the period in which the milestone is achieved. A milestone is substantive if:

The consideration payable to the Company is commensurate with the Company’s performance necessary to achieve the milestone or the increase in value to the collaboration resulting from the Company’s performance;
Relates solely to the Company’s past performance; and
Is reasonable relative to all of the other deliverables and payments within the arrangement.

Commercial milestones will be accounted for as royalties and recorded as revenue upon achievement of the milestone, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met. Subscription and license fees are recognized as revenue upon the grant of the technology license when performance is complete and there is no continuing involvement. Royalty revenues are recognized as earned in accordance with the contract terms at the time the royalty amount is fixed and determinable based on information received from the sublicensees and at the time collectibility is reasonably assured.

Research and Development Expenses: Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred for company-sponsored as well as collaborative research and development activities. These costs include direct and research-related overhead expenses and are expensed as incurred.  Technology license fees for technologies that are utilized in research and development and have no alternative future use are expensed when incurred. Substantial portions of the Company’s preclinical and clinical trials are performed by third-party laboratories, medical centers, contract research organizations and other vendors. For preclinical studies, the Company accrues expenses based upon estimated percentage of work completed and the contract milestones remaining. For clinical studies, expenses are accrued based upon the number of patients enrolled and the duration of the study. The Company monitors patient enrollment, the progress of clinical studies and related activities to the extent possible through internal reviews of data reported to the Company by the vendors and clinical site visits. The Company’s estimates depend on the timeliness and accuracy of the data provided by the vendors regarding the status of each program and total program spending. The Company periodically evaluates the estimates to determine if adjustments are necessary or appropriate based on information it receives.
 
Stock-Based Compensation:  The Company recognizes compensation expense in its statements of comprehensive loss for share-based payments, including stock options and restricted stock units issued to employees, based on their fair values on the date of the grant, with the compensation expense recognized over the period in which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the stock award.  Stock-based compensation expense for awards without performance conditions is recognized on a straight-line basis. Stock-based compensation expense for awards with performance conditions is recognized over the period from the date the performance condition is determined to be probable of occurring through the time the applicable condition is met.  As of December 31, 2016, stock-based compensation cost for all outstanding unvested options and restricted stock units was $14.1 million, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.4 years.
 
The fair value of stock options is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes method.  The Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires the input of subjective assumptions.  Because the Company’s employee stock options have characteristics significantly different from those of traded options, and because changes in the subjective input assumptions can materially affect the fair value estimate, in management’s opinion, the existing models do not necessarily provide a reliable single measure of the fair value of its employee stock options.  For purposes of determining the fair value of stock options, the Company segregates its options into two homogeneous groups, based on exercise and post-vesting employment termination behaviors, resulting in a change in the assumptions used for expected option lives and forfeitures.  Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility in the Company’s stock price.  The following weighted-average assumptions were used for options granted in the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively:
 
Expected Volatility
 
Risk-free Interest Rate
 
Expected Term
 
Dividend
Rate
December 31, 2016:
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Employees
63%
 
1.1%
 
4
 
0
%
Officers and non-employee directors
83%
 
1.6%
 
8
 
0
%
December 31, 2015:

 

 

 

Employees
64%
 
1.2%
 
4
 
0
%
Officers and non-employee directors
81%
 
1.8%
 
8
 
0
%
December 31, 2014:

 

 

 

Employees
66%
 
1.2%
 
4
 
0
%
Officers and non-employee directors
80%
 
2.3%
 
8
 
0
%

 
Net Loss per Common Share: Net loss per common share is computed using the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding. Shares associated with convertible debt, stock options and restricted stock units are not included because they are antidilutive.