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Summary of Significant Accounting Polices (Polices)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Catabasis Securities Corporation. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) and include all adjustments necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s financial position for the periods presented.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from such estimates.

The Company utilizes certain estimates to record expenses relating to research and development contracts. These contract estimates, which are primarily related to the length of service of each contract and the amount of service provided as of each measurement date, are determined by the Company based on input from internal project management, as well as from third-party service providers.

Off-Balance Sheet Risk and Concentrations of Credit Risk

The Company has no off-balance sheet risk, such as foreign exchange contracts, option contracts or other foreign hedging arrangements. Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk primarily consist of cash, cash equivalents, short-term investments and restricted cash. The primary objectives for the Company's investment portfolio are the preservation of capital and the maintenance of liquidity. The Company's investment policy includes guidelines on the quality of the institutions and financial instruments and defines allowable investments that the Company believes minimizes the exposure to concentration of credit risk.

Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The Company considers highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents, which consist of money market funds, corporate debt securities and reverse repurchase agreements are stated at fair value. Cash and cash equivalents consist of the following (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Cash	$	2,530	$	4,390
Money market fund		5,432		5,956
Corporate debt securities		1,937		1,948
Reverse repurchase agreements		—		3,000
Total	$	9,899	$	15,294

The reconciliation of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash reported within the applicable balance sheet that sum to the total of the same such amount shown in the statement of cash flows is as follows:


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Cash and cash equivalents	$	9,899	$	15,294
Restricted cash (1)		477		113
Total	$	10,376	$	15,407

(1) Included in prepaid expenses and other current assets and other assets as of December 31, 2019 and other assets as of December 31, 2018 in the consolidated balance sheets

Short-Term Investments

The Company classifies all corporate debt securities with a remaining maturity of greater than three months and reverse repurchase agreements with a remaining maturity of greater than one business day at the time of purchase as short-term investments. Short-term investments are recorded at fair value, with the unrealized gains and losses reported in other comprehensive loss. The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for the amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity. Such amortization is included in interest and investment income. Realized gains and losses, interest, dividends and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary are included in interest and investment income.

The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method for purposes of recording realized gains and losses. To determine whether an other-than-temporary impairment exists, the Company considers whether it has the ability and intent to hold the investment until a market price recovery, and whether evidence indicating the recoverability of the cost of the investment outweighs evidence to the contrary.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The fair value hierarchy prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three broad levels as follows: Level 1 inputs are quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities; Level 2 inputs are inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly; and Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

The carrying amounts reflected in the balance sheets for cash equivalents, restricted cash, prepaid expenses and other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values at December 31, 2019 and 2018, due to their short-term nature. There have been no changes to the valuation methods during the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. The Company evaluates transfers between levels at the end of each reporting period. There were no transfers of assets or liabilities between levels during the year ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

The Company’s investment portfolio may include fixed income securities that do not always trade on a daily basis. As a result, the pricing services used by the Company apply other available information as applicable through processes such as benchmark yields, benchmarking of like securities, sector groupings and matrix pricing to prepare valuations. The Company validates the prices provided by its third party pricing services by obtaining market values from other pricing sources and analyzing pricing data in certain instances. The Company also invests in certain reverse repurchase agreements which are collateralized by deposits in the form of U.S. Government Securities and Obligations for an amount no less than 102% of their value. The Company does not record an asset or liability for the collateral as the Company is not permitted to sell or re-pledge the collateral. The collateral has at least the prevailing credit rating of U.S. Government Treasuries and Agencies. The Company utilizes a third party custodian to manage the exchange of funds and ensure that collateral received is maintained at 102% of the value of the reverse repurchase agreements on a daily basis.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company continually evaluates whether events or circumstances have occurred that indicate that the estimated remaining useful life of its long-lived assets may warrant revision or that the carrying value of these assets may be impaired. The Company has not recognized any significant impairment charges from inception through December 31, 2019.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs include salaries and personnel-related costs, stock-based compensation, consulting fees, fees paid for contract research services, the costs of laboratory equipment and facilities and other external costs. Nonrefundable advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are deferred. The deferred amounts are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation awards in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”). ASC 718 requires all share-based payments to employees, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the statements of operations based on their grant date fair values. For granted stock options, the Company estimates the grant date fair value of each option award using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The use of the Black-Scholes option-pricing model requires management to make assumptions with respect to the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of the Common Stock consistent with the expected term of the option, risk-free interest rates and expected dividend yields of the Common Stock.

For awards subject to service-based vesting conditions, the Company recognizes stock-based compensation expense equal to the grant date fair value of stock options on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period.

The Company expenses restricted stock awards based on the fair value of the award on a straight-line basis over the associated service period of the award.

During the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018, the Company recorded stock-based compensation expense for employee and non-employee stock options and restricted stock, which was allocated as follows in the statements of operations (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
Research and development	$	616	$	673
General and administrative		896		1,098
Total	$	1,512	$	1,771

No related tax benefits were recognized for the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss by the weighted average shares outstanding during the period, without consideration for Common Stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is calculated by adjusting weighted average shares outstanding for the dilutive effect of Common Stock equivalents outstanding for the period, determined using the treasury-stock method. For purposes of the Company’s dilutive net loss per share calculation, stock options and warrants to purchase Common Stock were considered to be Common Stock equivalents but were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share, as their effect would be anti-dilutive; therefore, basic and diluted net loss per share were the same for all periods presented.

The following Common Stock equivalents were excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share for the periods indicated because including them would have had an anti-dilutive effect:


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019	2018
Stock options	785,832	433,389
Common stock warrants	6,193,749	4,202,449
	6,979,581	4,635,838

Income Taxes

The Company provides deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the Company's financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax assets to the amount that will more likely than not be realized.

The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC Topic 740, Expenses—Income Taxes. When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit will more likely than not be realized. The determination as to whether the tax benefit will more likely than not be realized is based upon the technical merits of the tax position as well as consideration of the available facts and circumstances. The Company did not have any significant uncertain tax positions for any periods presented.

Segment Information

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise for which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision making group, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment. The Company operates in one geographic segment.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources. For the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 amounts in accumulated other comprehensive loss were comprised of unrealized gains and losses on short-term investments.

Leases

Effective January 1, 2019, the Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in right-of-use ("ROU") lease assets, current portion of lease obligations, and long-term lease obligations on the Company's balance sheets. The Company does not currently hold any financing leases.

ROU lease assets represent the Company's right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease obligations represent the Company's obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating ROU lease assets and obligations are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As the Company's facility leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its estimated incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company's ROU lease assets also include any lease payments made and excludes lease incentives. If the Company's facility lease includes options to terminate the lease which would affect the lease period when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments under facility leases are recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements - Adopted and not yet adopted

Recent Accounting Pronouncements—Adopted

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases. This standard amends the existing guidance to require lessees to present most leases on their balance sheets and recognize corresponding expenses on their statements of operations. The FASB also provided practical expedients that give lessors an option to combine non-lease and associated lease components when certain criteria are met and requires a lessor to account for the combined component in accordance with the new revenue standard if the associated non-lease components are the predominant component. The Company adopted this standard effective January 1, 2019 by recording the cumulative effect on the date of the adoption. The Company has elected the package of practical expedients permitted under the transition guidance in ASC Topic 842, Leases, (“ASC Topic 842”). Accordingly, the Company accounted for its existing operating leases as operating leases under the new guidance, without reassessing (a) whether the contracts contain a lease under ASC Topic 842, (b) whether classification of the operating leases would be different in accordance with ASC Topic 842, or (c) whether the unamortized initial direct costs before transition adjustments would have met the definition of initial direct costs in ASC Topic 842 at lease commencement. As a result of the adoption of the new lease accounting guidance, the Company recognized on January 1, 2019 a lease liability and right-of-use asset of approximately $1.9 million. The lease liability represents the present value of the remaining lease payments, discounted using the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate of 7.49%. The ROU asset represents the lease liability adjusted for any prepaid and accrued rent payments as well as any remaining liability associated with an active sublease. This standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s cash flows from operations and had no impact on the Company’s operating results. The most significant impact was the recognition of ROU assets and lease obligations for operating leases.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements—Not Yet Adopted

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies and adopted by the Company as of the 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 its financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments-Credit Losses (Topic 326). This standard requires a financial asset to be presented at amortized cost basis at the net amount expected to be collected. It also requires that credit losses relating to available-for-sale debt securities should be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. In November 2019, the FASB issued an amendment making this ASU effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2022 for smaller reporting companies. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820). This standard includes amendments regarding changes in unrealized gains and losses, the range and weighted average of significant unobservable inputs used to develop Level 3 fair value measurements, and disclosure requirements of measurement uncertainty. This amendment is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that this standard will have on its consolidated financial statements.