Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

All amounts are presented in U.S. Dollars.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted 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 liabilities at dates of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the periods. Actual results could differ from these estimates. The Company’s significant estimates and assumptions include the fair value of financial instruments, stock-based compensation and the valuation allowance relating to the Company’s deferred tax assets.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Concentrations of Credit Risk

The Company maintains deposits in a financial institution which is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”). At various times, the Company has deposits in this financial institution in excess of the amount insured by the FDIC. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to any significant credit risk.

Investments

Investments

Investments as of December 2021 and 2020 consist of U.S. Treasury Bills, which are classified as held-to-maturity, and Certificates of Deposit totaling $21.3 million and $18.1 million, respectively. The Company determines the appropriate balance sheet classification of its investments at the time of purchase and evaluates the classification at each balance sheet date. All of the Company’s U.S. Treasury Bills mature within the subsequent twelve months from the date of purchase. Unrealized gains and losses were de minimus. As of December 31, 2021, the carrying value of the Company’s U.S. Treasury Bills approximates their fair value due to their short-term maturities.

Capitalization of Patent Costs

Capitalization of Patent Costs

The Company capitalizes the costs of its patents which consists of legal and filing fees related to the prosecution of patent filings. The patents will be amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated remaining lives of the patents which is 20 years from the initial filing of the patent.

Cash Equivalents

Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2021, the Company invested $0.7 million in Treasury Bills that are considered cash equivalents due to their maturity date being less than three months from the date of purchase.

Property and Equipment, net

Property and Equipment, net

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation of computer and lab equipment is computed by use of the straight-line method based on the estimated useful lives of the assets, which range from three to five years. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs that do not improve or extend the expected lives of the assets are expensed to operations, while expenditures for major upgrades to existing items are capitalized. Upon retirement or other disposition of these assets, the costs and accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and resulting gains or losses are reflected in the results of operations.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company measures the fair value of financial assets and liabilities based on the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. The Company utilizes three levels of inputs that may be used to measure fair value:

Level 1 - quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

Level 2 - quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets or inputs that are observable.

Level 3 - inputs that are unobservable (for example, cash flow modeling inputs based on assumptions).

The carrying amounts of cash, investments and accounts payable approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these instruments. The amount of debt included in the accompanying balance sheets approximates its fair value because the interest rate of the notes approximates the current market interest rate.

Common Stock Purchase Warrants

Common Stock Purchase Warrants

The Company classifies as equity any contracts that (i) require physical settlement or net-share settlement or (ii) provides the Company with a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in its own shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement) providing that such contracts are indexed to the Company’s own stock. The Company classifies as assets or liabilities any contracts that (i) require net-cash settlement (including a requirement to net cash settle the contract if an event occurs and if that event is outside the Company’s control), or (ii) gives the counterparty a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement). The Company assesses classification of its common stock purchase warrants and other free-standing derivatives at each reporting date to determine whether a change in classification between assets, liabilities and equity is required. The Company’s free-standing derivatives consist of warrants to purchase common stock that were issued in connection with its notes payable and public and private offerings. The Company evaluated these warrants to assess their proper classification using the applicable criteria enumerated under U.S. GAAP and determined that the common stock purchase warrants meet the criteria for equity classification in the accompanying balance sheets as of December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of items that have been included or excluded in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the difference between the tax basis of assets and liabilities and their respective financial reporting amounts (“temporary differences”) at enacted tax rates in effect for the years in which the temporary differences are expected to reverse. 

The benefit of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in income tax returns are recognized in the financial statements if such positions are more likely than not of being sustained. Management has evaluated and concluded that there were no material uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in the Company’s financial statements as of December 31, 2021 and 2020. The Company does not expect any significant changes in the unrecognized tax benefits within twelve months of the reporting date.

The Company classifies interest expense and any related penalties related to income tax uncertainties as a component of income tax expense. No interest or penalties have been recognized during the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and Development Expenses

The Company expenses all research and development expenses as incurred. These costs include payroll, employee benefits, supplies, contracted for lab services, depreciation and other personnel-related costs associated with product development.

Share-Based Payment

Share-Based Payment

The Company accounts for share-based payments using the fair value method. For employees and directors, the fair value of the award is measured, as discussed below, on the grant date. For non-employees, fair value is generally valued based on the fair value of the services provided or the fair value of the equity instruments on the measurement date, whichever is more readily determinable. The Company has granted stock options at exercise prices equal to the closing price of the Company’s common stock as reported by Nasdaq, with input from management on the date of grant. Upon exercise of an option or warrant, the Company issues new shares of common stock out of its authorized shares.

The weighted-average fair value of options and warrants has been estimated on the grant date or measurement date using the Black-Scholes pricing model. The fair value of each instrument is estimated on the grant date or measurement date utilizing certain assumptions for a risk-free interest rate, volatility and expected remaining lives of the awards. The risk-free interest rate used is the United States Treasury rate for the day of the grant having a term equal to the life of the equity instrument. Volatility was derived from the Company’s share price. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of share-based payment awards represent management’s best estimates, but these estimates involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management judgment. As a result, if factors change and the Company uses different assumptions, the Company’s stock-based compensation expense could be materially different in the future.

The Black-Scholes assumptions are as follows:

	For the Years Ended December 31,
	2021	2020
Expected life	6 years	6 years
Risk free interest rate	0.90-1.38%	0.21-1.61%
Expected volatility	91-92%	94-97%
Expected dividend yield	0%	0%

As of December 31, 2021, total unrecognized stock compensation expense was $6.0 million, which will be recognized as those options vest over a period of approximately four years. The amount of future stock option compensation expense could be affected by any future option grants or by any option holders leaving the Company before their grants are fully vested.

Net Loss Per Share of Common Stock

Net Loss Per Share of Common Stock

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net earnings per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other instruments to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. Potentially dilutive securities are excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive and consist of the following:

	As of December 31,
	2021		2020
Options		10,992,335		7,469,891
Warrants		35,634,075		19,372,818
Totals		46,626,410		26,842,709

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In December 2019, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU No. 2019-12, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes” (“ASU 2019-12”), which is intended to simplify the accounting for income taxes. ASU 2019-12 removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Upon adoption, ASU No. 2019-12 did not have an impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.