Summary of Significant Accounting Policies |
9 Months Ended | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Sep. 30, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Accounting Policies [Abstract] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies |
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Basis of Presentation The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements of the Company should be read in conjunction with its audited financial statements and accompanying notes thereto as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020 included in the Company’s Form 10-K as filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on March 16, 2021. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), the Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”), of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), and the rules and regulations of the US Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The Merger was accounted for as a reverse asset acquisition, as more fully described in Notes 1 and 4. Forte Subsidiary is deemed to be the acquirer for accounting purposes and Tocagen is the accounting acquiree. In the opinion of management, the accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements include all adjustments that are of a normal and recurring nature and that are necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s financial position, the results of its operations and cash flows for the periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for the full year or any future period. Principles of Consolidation The condensed consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, Forte Subsidiary, Inc and Forte Biosciences Emerald Limited. All intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in the preparation of the condensed consolidated financial statements. Cash and Cash Equivalents Cash and cash equivalents include money market funds and deposits with commercial banks. Cash equivalents are defined as short-term, highly liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less at the date of purchase. Fair Value of Financial Instruments Fair value is defined as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. There is a three-level hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used in determining fair value by their reliability and preferred use as follows:
To the extent that a valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable, or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized within Level 3. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement. There have been no significant changes to the valuation methods utilized by the Company during the periods presented. There have been no transfers between Level 1, Level 2, and Level 3 in any periods presented. The carrying amounts of financial instruments consisting of cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable, accrued expenses and other current liabilities included in the Company’s financial statements, are reasonable estimates of fair value, primarily due to their short maturities. The company had $34.9 million in money market funds as of September 30, 2021 which are classified within Level 1. Money market funds are valued at the closing price reported by the fund sponsor from an actively traded exchange. Money market funds were included as cash and cash equivalents in the condensed consolidated balance sheets at September 30, 2021 and December 31, 2020. Use of Estimates The preparation of the Company’s 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 financial statements and accompanying notes. Significant management estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities include useful lives of property and equipment, stock-based compensation, accruals for clinical trials and drug manufacturing and deferred tax assets. Although these estimates are based on the Company’s knowledge of current events and actions it may undertake in the future, actual results may ultimately materially differ from these estimates and assumptions.
Acquired In-Process Research and Development Expense The Company acquired in-process research and development assets in connection with its Merger with Tocagen. As the acquired in-process research and development assets were deemed to have no current or alternative future use, an expense of $32.1 million was recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations upon closing of the Merger on June 15, 2020. Impairment of Property and Equipment The Company reviews its property and equipment for impairment when events or changes in circumstances indicate the carrying value of the assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparing the book values of the assets to future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets or the asset groups are expected to generate. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the book value of the assets exceed their fair value, which is measured based on the estimated discounted future net cash flows arising from the assets or asset groups. Impairment losses on property and equipment of $61,000 have been recorded for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2021. Research and Development Costs Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs consist primarily of salaries and benefits of research and development personnel, costs related to research activities, preclinical studies, clinical trials and drug manufacturing. Non-refundable advance payments for goods or services that will be used in future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized and are only expensed when the goods have been received or when the service has been performed rather than when the payment is made.
Drug manufacturing and clinical trial costs are a component of research and development expenses. The Company expenses costs for its drug manufacturing activities performed by Contract Manufacturing Organizations (“CMOs”) and preclinical and clinical trial costs performed by Contract Research Organizations (“CROs”) and other service providers, as they are incurred, based upon estimates of the work completed over the life of the individual study in accordance with associated agreements. The Company uses information it receives from internal personnel and outside service providers to estimate the percentage of completion and therefore the expense to be incurred. Comprehensive Loss Comprehensive loss includes net loss and other comprehensive income (loss) for the period. The Company did not have other comprehensive income (loss) items such as unrealized gains and losses. Comprehensive loss was equal to net loss for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020. Net Loss Per Share Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock and common stock equivalents outstanding during the period in accordance with the treasury stock method. The following number of unexercised stock options, warrants and restricted stock units, which are common stock equivalents, have been excluded from the diluted net loss calculation as their effect would have been anti-dilutive for all periods presented:
Recently Adopted Accounting Standards In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which simplifies the accounting for income taxes by eliminating certain exceptions to the guidance in ASC 740 related to the approach for intra-period tax allocation, the methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period and the recognition of deferred tax liabilities for outside basis differences. The new guidance also simplifies aspects of the accounting for franchise taxes and enacted changes in tax laws or rates and clarifies the accounting for transactions that result in a step-up in the tax basis of goodwill. The Company adopted this ASU as of January 1, 2021 and the adoption did not have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations. Recently Issued Accounting Standards Not Yet Adopted From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies and adopted by us as of a specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations. In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, Debt - Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging - Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 eliminates the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models for convertible instruments. It also amends the accounting for certain contracts in an entity’s own equity that are currently accounted for as derivatives because of specific settlement provisions. In addition, ASU 2020-06 modifies how particular convertible instruments and certain contracts that may be settled in cash or shares impact the diluted earnings per share computation. The amendments in ASU 2020-06 are effective for smaller reporting companies as defined by the SEC for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted, but not earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of ASU 2020-06 on its consolidated financial statements and does not expect the adoption of this amended guidance to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements. |