ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1. ORGANIZATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Description of Business

The mission of Capricor Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (referred to herein as “Capricor Therapeutics” or the “Company”), is to improve the treatment of diseases by commercializing innovative therapies, with a primary focus on cardiovascular diseases. Capricor, Inc., a privately-held company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capricor Therapeutics (referred to herein as “Capricor”), was founded in 2005 as a Delaware corporation based on the innovative work of its founder, Eduardo Marbán, M.D., Ph.D. After completion of a merger between Capricor and a subsidiary of Nile Therapeutics, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Nile”), on November 20, 2013, Capricor became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nile and Nile formally changed its name to Capricor Therapeutics, Inc. Capricor Therapeutics, together with its subsidiary, Capricor, currently has six drug candidates in various stages of development.

Basis of Consolidation

Our consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and our wholly-owned subsidiary. All intercompany transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Liquidity

The Company has historically financed its research and development activities as well as operational expenses from equity financings, government grants, a payment from Janssen Biotech, Inc. (“Janssen”) pursuant to a Collaboration Agreement with Janssen and a loan award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (“CIRM”).

Cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities as of December 31, 2015 were approximately $13.6 million, compared to $8.0 million as of December 31, 2014. In January 2015, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with select investors, pursuant to which the Company issued an aggregate of 2,839,045 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $3.523 for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $10,000,000. In February 2015, the Company entered into a Share Purchase Agreement with select investors, pursuant to which the Company issued an aggregate of 1,658,822 shares of its common stock at a price per share of $4.25 for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $7,050,000. In March 2016, the Company entered into a Subscription Agreement with certain investors pursuant to which the Company issued an aggregate of 1,692,151 shares of common stock at a price per share of $2.40 for an aggregate purchase price of approximately $4.1 million. Pursuant to the Subscription Agreement, the Company also issued to the Investors warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 846,073 shares of Common Stock. Each warrant has an exercise price of $4.50 per share, will initially be exercisable on the date that is six months and one day from the date of issuance, and will expire on the date that is three years from the date of issuance. Furthermore, in March 2016, Capricor was informed by CIRM that it was approved for a grant award in the amount of approximately $3.4 million to fund in part Capricor’s Phase I/II HOPE-Duchenne clinical trial. The terms of the award and the disbursement schedule have not been determined as of the date of filing of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and the award is subject to the execution of definitive documents. The Company’s principal uses of cash are for research and development expenses, general and administrative expenses, capital expenditures and other working capital requirements.

The Company’s future expenditures and capital requirements may be substantial and will depend on many factors, including but not limited to the following:

⋅ the timing and costs associated with commercialization of its product candidates;

⋅ the timing and costs associated with its clinical trials and preclinical studies;

⋅ the number and scope of its research programs; and

⋅ the costs involved in prosecuting and enforcing patent claims and other intellectual property rights.

The Company’s cash requirements are expected to continue to increase as it advances its research, development and commercialization programs and the Company expects to seek additional financing primarily from, but not limited to, the sale and issuance of equity or debt securities, the licensing or sale of its technology and from government grants. The Company cannot provide assurances that financing will be available when and as needed or that, if available, financing will be available on favorable or acceptable terms or at all. If the Company is unable to obtain additional financing when and if required, it would have a material adverse effect on the Company’s business and results of operations and could include reducing expenses and curtailing operations. To the extent the Company issues additional equity securities, its existing stockholders could experience substantial dilution.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) 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 consolidated financial statements. Estimates also affect the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. The most sensitive estimates relate to the period over which the collaboration revenue is recognized and the stock-based compensation. Management uses its historical records and knowledge of its business in making these estimates. Accordingly, actual results may differ from these estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Restricted Cash

As of December 31, 2014, restricted cash represented funds received under Capricor’s Loan Agreement with CIRM (see Note 2 – “Loan Payable”), which are to be allocated to the ALLSTAR clinical trial research costs as incurred. Generally, a reduction of restricted cash occurs when the Company deems certain costs are attributable to the ALLSTAR clinical trial.

Marketable Securities

The Company determines the appropriate classification of its marketable securities at the time of purchase and reevaluates such designation at each balance sheet date. All of the Company’s marketable securities are considered as available-for-sale and carried at estimated fair values. Realized gains and losses on the sale of debt and equity securities are determined using the specific identification method. Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are excluded from net income and reported in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of stockholders’ equity.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Repairs and maintenance costs are expensed in the period incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the related estimated useful life of the asset, which such estimated useful lives range from five to seven years. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the useful life of the asset or the lease term. Depreciation was approximately $62,116 and $32,163 for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Property and equipment consisted of the following at December 31:

	2015		2014
Furniture and fixtures	$	59,128	$	38,850
Laboratory equipment		387,872		278,453
Leasehold improvements		45,274		23,744
		492,274		341,047
Less accumulated depreciation		(173,708)		(111,592)
Property and equipment, net	$	318,566	$	229,455

Intangible Assets

Amounts attributable to intellectual property consist primarily of the costs associated with the acquisition of certain technologies, patents, pending patents and related intangible assets with respect to research and development activities. Intellectual property assets are stated at cost and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the respective estimated useful lives of the assets ranging from five to fifteen years. Also, the Company recorded capitalized loan fees as a component of intangible assets on the consolidated balance sheet (see Note 2 – “Loan Payable”). Total amortization expense was approximately $48,749 and $10,733 for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. A summary of future amortization expense as of December 31, 2015 is as follows:

Years ended	Amortization Expense
2016	$	48,749
2017		48,749
2018		43,733
2019		43,277
2020		4,330
Thereafter		2,165

As a result of the merger in 2013 between Capricor and Nile, the Company recorded $1.5 million as in-process research and development in accordance with Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 805, Business Combinations. The in-process research and development asset is subject to impairment testing until completion or abandonment of research and development efforts associated with the project. Upon successful completion of the project, the Company will make a determination as to the then remaining useful life of the intangible asset and begin amortization.

The Company reviews indefinite-lived intangible assets at least annually for possible impairment. Goodwill and indefinite-lived intangible assets are reviewed for possible impairment between annual tests if an event occurs or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying value. As of December 31, 2015, the Company deemed the assets to not be impaired and did not begin amortizing the in-process research and development.

Long-Lived Assets

The Company accounts for the impairment and disposition of long-lived assets in accordance with guidance issued by the FASB. Long-lived assets to be held and used are reviewed for events or changes in circumstances that indicate that their carrying value may not be recoverable, or annually. No impairment was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014.

Government Research Grants

Generally, government research grants that provide funding for research and development activities are recognized as income when the related expenses are incurred, as applicable. In August 2013, Capricor was approved for a Phase IIB Bridge grant through the NIH Small Business Innovation Research, or SBIR, program for continued development of its CAP-1002 product candidate. Under the terms of the grant, disbursements are being made to Capricor over a period of approximately three years, in an aggregate amount of approximately $2.9 million, subject to annual and quarterly reporting requirements. As of December 31, 2015, approximately $2.4 million had been incurred under the terms of the award.

Income from Collaborative Agreement

Revenue from nonrefundable, up-front license or technology access payments under license and collaborative arrangements that are not dependent on any future performance by the Company is recognized when such amounts are earned. If the Company has continuing obligations to perform under the arrangement, such fees are recognized over the estimated period of the continuing performance obligation.

The Company accounts for multiple element arrangements, such as license and development agreements in which a customer may purchase several deliverables, in accordance with FASB ASC Subtopic 605-25, Multiple Element Arrangements. For new or materially amended multiple element arrangements, the Company identifies the deliverables at the inception of the arrangement and each deliverable within a multiple deliverable revenue arrangement is accounted for as a separate unit of accounting if both of the following criteria are met: (1) the delivered item or items have value to the customer on a standalone basis and (2) for an arrangement that includes a general right of return relative to the delivered item(s), delivery or performance of the undelivered item(s) is considered probable and substantially in the Company’s control. The Company allocates revenue to each non-contingent element based on the relative selling price of each element. When applying the relative selling price method, the Company determines the selling price for each deliverable using vendor-specific objective evidence (“VSOE”) of selling price, if it exists, or third-party evidence (“TPE”) of selling price, if it exists. If neither VSOE nor TPE of selling price exist for a deliverable, then the Company uses the best estimated selling price for that deliverable. Revenue allocated to each element is then recognized based on when the basic four revenue recognition criteria are met for each element.

The Company determined the deliverables under its Collaboration Agreement with Janssen (see Note 7 – “License Agreements”) did not meet the criteria to be considered separate accounting units for the purposes of revenue recognition. As a result, the Company recognized revenue from non-refundable, upfront fees ratably over the term of its performance under the agreement with Janssen. The upfront payments received, pending recognition as revenue, are recorded as deferred revenue and are classified as a short-term or long-term liability on the condensed consolidated balance sheets of the Company and amortized over the estimated period of performance. The Company periodically reviews the estimated performance period of its contract based on the estimated progress of its project.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are recognized for the amount of taxes payable or refundable for the current year and deferred tax liabilities and assets are recognized for the future tax consequences of transactions that have been recognized in the Company's financial statements or tax returns. A valuation allowance is provided when it is more likely than not that some portion or the entire deferred tax asset will not be realized.

The Company uses guidance issued by the FASB that clarifies the accounting for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in an enterprise's financial statements and prescribes a recognition threshold of more likely than not and a measurement process for financial statement recognition and measurement of a tax position taken or expected to be taken in a tax return. In making this assessment, a company must determine whether it is more likely than not that a tax position will be sustained upon examination, based solely on the technical merits of the position, and must assume that the tax position will be examined by taxing authorities. The Company’s policy is to include interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits in income tax expense. The Company incurred no interest or penalties for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014. The Company files income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) and the California Franchise Tax Board. The Company’s net operating loss carryforwards are subject to IRS examination until they are fully utilized and such tax years are closed.

Loan Payable

The Company accounts for the funds advanced under its Loan Agreement with CIRM (see Note 2 – “Loan Payable”) as a loan payable as the eventual repayment of the loan proceeds or forgiveness of the loan is contingent upon certain future milestones being met and other conditions. As the likelihood of whether or not the Company will ever achieve these milestones or satisfy these conditions cannot be reasonably predicted at this time, the Company records these amounts as a loan payable.

Rent

Rent expense for the Company's leases, which generally have escalating rentals over the term of the lease, is recorded on a straight-line basis over the lease term. The difference between the rent expense and rent paid has been recorded as deferred rent in the accounts payable and accrued expenses, related party in the consolidated balance sheet. Rent is amortized on a straight-line basis over the term of the applicable lease, without consideration of renewal options.

Research and Development

Costs relating to the design and development of new products are expensed as research and development as incurred in accordance with FASB ASC 730-10, Research and Development. Research and development costs amounted to approximately $13.8 million and $7.8 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

Comprehensive income (loss) generally represents all changes in stockholders’ equity during the period except those resulting from investments by, or distributions to, stockholders. The Company’s comprehensive loss was approximately $12.8 million and $6.2 million for the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The Company’s other comprehensive income is related to a net unrealized gain on marketable securities. For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company’s other comprehensive gain was $9,385 and $980, respectively.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based employee compensation arrangements in accordance with guidance issued by the FASB, which requires the measurement and recognition of compensation expense for all share-based payment awards made to employees, consultants, and directors based on estimated fair values.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based compensation awards on the date of grant using an option-pricing model. The value of the portion of the award that is ultimately expected to vest is recognized as expense over the requisite service periods in the Company’s statements of operations.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock-based compensation awards using the Black-Scholes model. This model requires the Company to estimate the expected volatility and value of its common stock and the expected term of the stock options; all of which are highly complex and subjective variables. The variables take into consideration, among other things, actual and projected stock option exercise behavior. The Company calculates an average of historical volatility of similar companies as a basis for its expected volatility. Expected term is computed using the simplified method provided within Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 110. The Company has selected a risk-free rate based on the implied yield available on U.S. Treasury securities with a maturity equivalent to the expected term of the options.

Basic and Diluted Loss per Share

Basic loss per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted loss per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period. Dilutive potential common shares, which primarily consist of stock options issued to employees, consultants and directors as well as warrants issued to third parties, have been excluded from the diluted loss per share calculation because their effect is anti-dilutive.

For the years ended December 31, 2015 and 2014, warrants and options to purchase 6,233,153 and 5,308,581 shares, respectively, have been excluded from the computation of potentially dilutive securities.

Fair Value Measurements

Assets and liabilities recorded at fair value in the balance sheet are categorized based upon the level of judgment associated with the inputs used to measure their fair value. The categories are as follows:

Level Input:	Input Definition:
Level I	Inputs are unadjusted, quoted prices for identical assets or liabilities in
	active markets at the measurement date.
Level II	Inputs, other than quoted prices included in Level I, that are observable
	for the asset or liability through corroboration with market data at the
	measurement date.
Level III	Unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what
	market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the
	measurement date.

The following table summarizes fair value measurements by level at December 31, 2015 for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis:

	December 31, 2015
	Level I		Level II		Level III		Total
Marketable securities	$	7,999,010	$	-	$	-	$	7,999,010

Carrying amounts reported in the balance sheet of cash and cash equivalents, grants receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value due to their relatively short maturity. The carrying amounts of the Company’s marketable securities are based on market quotations from national exchanges at the balance sheet date. Interest and dividend income are recognized separately on the income statement based on classifications provided by the brokerage firm holding the investments. The fair value of borrowings is not considered to be significantly different than its carrying amount because the stated rates for such debt reflect current market rates and conditions.

Warrant Liability

The Company accounts for some of its warrants issued in accordance with the guidance on Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity, which provides that the Company must classify the warrant instrument as a liability at its fair value and adjust the instrument to fair value at each reporting period. The fair value of warrants is estimated by management using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. This liability is subject to re-measurement at each balance sheet date until exercised, and any change in fair value is recognized as a component of other income or expense. Management has determined the value of the warrant liability to be insignificant at December 31, 2015, and no such liability has been reflected on the balance sheet.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 will eliminate transaction- and industry-specific revenue recognition guidance under current generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and replace it with a principle-based approach for determining revenue recognition. ASU 2014-09 will require that companies recognize revenue based on the value of transferred goods or services as they occur in the contract. ASU 2014-09 also will require additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract. ASU 2014-09 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, and early adoption is not permitted. Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption. The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting.

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern (Topic 915): Disclosure of Uncertainties about an Entity’s Ability to Continue as a Going Concern, which states that in connection with preparing financial statements for each annual and interim reporting period, an entity’s management should evaluate whether there are conditions or events, considered in the aggregate, that raise substantial doubt about the entity’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date that the financial statements are issued (or within one year after the date that the financial statements are available to be issued when applicable). The adoption of this update is not expected to have a material effect on our financial statements.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-02, Consolidation (Topic 810): Amendments to the Consolidation Analysis. This standard modifies existing consolidation guidance for reporting organizations that are required to evaluate whether they should consolidate certain legal entities. ASU 2015-02 is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning after December 15, 2015, and requires either a retrospective or a modified retrospective approach to adoption. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact of this standard on its consolidated financial statements, as well as the available transition methods.

In February 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-03, Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs. This update changes the presentation of debt issuance costs in the balance sheet. ASU 2015-03 requires debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt obligation to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt liability rather than being presented as an asset. Amortization of debt issuance costs will continue to be reported as interest expense. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-15, “Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of Credit Arrangements.” This ASU clarified guidance in ASC 2015-03 stating that the SEC staff would not object to a company presenting debt issuance costs related to a line-of-credit arrangement on the balance sheet as a deferred asset, regardless of whether there were any outstanding borrowings at period-end. This update is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2015, which will require us to adopt these provisions in the first quarter of 2016. This update will be applied on a retrospective basis, wherein the balance sheet of each period presented will be adjusted to reflect the effects of applying the new guidance.

In February 2016, the FASB issued 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842), which supersedes existing guidance on accounting for leases in “Leases (Topic 840)” and generally requires all leases to be recognized in the consolidated balance sheet. ASU 2016-02 is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018; early adoption is permitted. The provisions of ASU 2016-02 are to be applied using a modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the adoption of this standard on its consolidated financial statements.

Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB, including its Emerging Issues Task Force, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, did not or are not believed by management to have a material impact on the Company’s present or future consolidated financial statement presentation or disclosures.