Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2023

Business Organization and Nature of Operations [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 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 March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022 consist of U.S. Treasury Bills, which are classified as held-to-maturity, and Certificates of Deposit totaling $8.7 million and $9.8 million as of March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, 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 March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the carrying value of the Company’s U.S. Treasury Bills approximates their fair value due to their short-term maturities.

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 March 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, the Company invested $3.9 million in each of the periods in Treasury Bills that are considered cash equivalents due to their maturity date being less than three months from the date of purchase.

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) provide 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) give 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 March 31, 2023.

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 Payments

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 historical share prices. 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. During the three months ended March 31, 2023, the Company did not grant any options or warrants to purchase shares of its common stock.

The Black-Scholes assumptions are as follows:

	For the Three Months Ended March 31,
	2023		2022
Expected life		N/A		6.25 years
Risk free interest rate		N/A		1.47%
Expected volatility		N/A		92%
Expected dividend yield		N/A		N/A
Forfeiture rate		N/A		N/A

As of March 31, 2023, total unrecognized stock compensation expense was $3.0 million, which will be recognized as those options vest over a period of approximately three 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 March 31,
	2023		2022
Options		252,994		377,905
Warrants		1,177,315		1,182,503
Totals		1,430,309		1,560,408