Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) related to a quarterly report on Form 10-Q. Certain information and note disclosures normally included in annual financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to those rules and regulations. The unaudited interim condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments which, in the opinion of management, are necessary for a fair statement of the results for the periods presented. All such adjustments are of a normal and recurring nature. The operating results presented in these unaudited interim condensed financial statements are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for any future periods. These unaudited interim condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and the notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2020 included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2021.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The Company’s condensed financial statements are prepared in accordance with GAAP, which requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the financial statements and accompanying notes. The most significant estimates in the Company’s condensed financial statements relate to revenue recognition, stock-based compensation, and accrued research and development costs. 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.

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents include cash in readily available checking and money market accounts. Restricted cash represents cash held as collateral for the letter of credit required under the Company’s facility lease and is reported as a long-term asset in the accompanying condensed balance sheets.

Marketable Securities

Marketable Securities

The Company’s marketable securities consist of corporate debt securities. The Company classifies its marketable securities as available-for-sale and records such assets at estimated fair value in the condensed balance sheets, with unrealized gains and losses, if any, reported as a component of other comprehensive income (loss) within the condensed statements of operations and comprehensive loss and as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The Company classifies marketable securities with remaining maturities greater than one year as current assets because such marketable securities are available to fund the Company’s current operations. Realized gains and losses are calculated on the specific identification method and recorded as interest income. There were no realized gains and losses during any of the periods presented.

At each balance sheet date, the Company assesses available-for-sale securities in an unrealized loss position to determine whether the unrealized loss is other-than-temporary. When the Company determines that a decline in the fair value below its cost basis is other-than-temporary, the Company recognizes an impairment loss in the period in which the other-than-temporary decline occurred. There have been no other-than-temporary impairments recognized during any of the periods presented.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant risk on its cash balances due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held. Additionally, the Company has established guidelines regarding approved investments, credit quality, diversification, liquidity and maturities of investments, which are designed to maintain safety and liquidity.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under GAAP. Fair value is defined as 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. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable:

• Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

• Level 2—Observable inputs, such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data.

• Level 3—Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to determining the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques.

The asset’s or liability’s fair value measurement level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

None of the Company’s non-financial assets are recorded at fair value on a non-recurring basis. The carrying amounts reflected in the Company’s condensed balance sheets for prepaid and other assets and accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature. The carrying value of the Company’s previously outstanding debt approximated fair value due to the interest being reflective of then-current market rates for debt with similar terms and conditions. The Company recognizes transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy on the date of the event or change in circumstances that caused the transfer. No transfers between levels have occurred during the periods presented.

See Note 3 (Fair Value Measurements) for information on assets measured at fair value.

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization are recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, which ranges from three to five years. Leasehold improvements are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful lives of the assets or the remaining lease term. Repairs and maintenance charges that do not increase the useful life of the assets are charged to operating expenses as incurred.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets consist of property and equipment. An impairment loss is recorded if and when events and circumstances indicate that assets might be impaired and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than the carrying amount of those assets. The Company has not recognized any impairment losses in any of the periods presented in these financial statements.

Segment Information

Segment Information

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by management in making decisions regarding resource allocation and assessing performance. The Company manages its operations as a single operating segment in the United States for the purposes of assessing performance and making operating decisions.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

To date, all the Company’s revenue has been derived from collaboration and research agreements. The terms of these arrangements include the following types of payments to the Company: non-refundable, upfront license fees; development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments; payments for research and development services provided by the Company or for manufacturing supply services the Company provides through its contract manufacturers; and royalties on net sales of licensed products.  

The Company performs the following steps in determining the appropriate amount of revenue to be recognized as it fulfills its obligations under each of these agreements: (i) identification of the promised goods or services in the contract; (ii) determination of whether the promised goods or services are performance obligations, including whether they are distinct in the context of the contract; (iii) measurement of the transaction price, including the constraint on variable consideration; (iv) allocation of the transaction price to the performance obligations; and (v) recognition of revenue when, or as, the Company satisfies each performance obligation.

The Company receives payments from its collaborators based on billing schedules established in each contract. Upfront and other payments may require deferral of revenue recognition to a future period until the Company performs its obligations under its research and collaboration arrangements. Amounts are recorded as accounts receivable when the Company’s right to consideration is unconditional.

See Note 5 (Collaboration, License and Research Agreements) for further information.

Research and Development Costs

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and include salaries, benefits and stock-based compensation associated with research and development personnel, third-party research and development expenses, license fees, laboratory supplies, facilities, overhead costs, and consultants. Nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are capitalized and recorded as expense in the period that the Company receives the goods or when services are performed.

Upfront and milestone payments to acquire contractual rights to licensed technology are recorded when incurred if there is uncertainty in the Company receiving future economic benefit from the acquired contractual rights.

Patent Costs

Patent Costs

Costs related to filing and pursuing patent applications are recorded as general and administrative expense and expensed as incurred since recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740, Income Taxes, which provides for deferred taxes using the asset and liability method. The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Valuation allowances are provided, if based upon the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The effect of a change in tax rates on deferred tax assets and liabilities is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date.

When uncertain tax positions exist, the Company recognizes the tax benefit of tax positions to the extent that the benefit would more likely than not be realized assuming examination by the taxing authority. 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 is subject to taxation in the United States and state jurisdictions. As of December 31, 2020, the Company’s tax years since conversion to a corporation are subject to examination by taxing authorities.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense for employee and non-employee stock option grants is recorded at the estimated fair value of the award as of the grant date and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period (usually the vesting period) of the stock-based award, net of actual forfeitures during the period. Stock-based compensation expense for employee stock purchases under the Company’s Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the ESPP) is recorded at the estimated fair value of the purchase as of the plan enrollment date and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the applicable six-month ESPP offering period. The estimation of fair value for stock-based compensation requires management to make estimates and judgments about, among other things, the estimated life of options and volatility of the Company’s common stock. The judgments directly affect the amount of compensation expense that will be recognized.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss is defined as the change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources, including unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities. Comprehensive gains (losses) have been reflected in the statements of operations and comprehensive loss for all periods presented.

Net Loss Per Share

Net Loss Per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period, adjusted for the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding that are subject to repurchase or forfeiture. The Company has excluded 22,158 and 106,202 weighted-average shares subject to repurchase or forfeiture from the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the three months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively, and 39,345 and 137,767 weighted-average shares subject to repurchase or forfeiture from the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 and 2020, respectively. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods. For all periods presented, there is no difference in the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted shares outstanding as inclusion of the potentially dilutive securities would be anti-dilutive due to the Company’s net loss position.

Potentially dilutive securities not included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share, because to do so would be anti-dilutive, are as follows (in common stock equivalent shares; in thousands):

	September 30,
	2021		2020
Common stock options issued and outstanding		5,649		3,545
Common stock subject to repurchase or forfeiture		18		92
ESPP shares pending issuance		12		19
Total		5,679		3,656

Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2020-06, Debt—Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Accounting for Convertible Instruments and Contracts in an Entity’s Own Equity, which simplifies the accounting for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity, including convertible instruments and contracts in an entity’s own equity. Specifically, ASU 2020-06 simplifies accounting for the issuance of convertible instruments by removing certain separation models required under existing guidance. In addition, the ASU removes certain settlement conditions that are required for equity contracts to qualify for the derivative scope exception and amends the diluted earnings-per-share (EPS) calculation guidance in certain areas to improve the consistency of EPS calculations. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company early adopted the new standard, effective January 1, 2021, on a modified retrospective basis. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 had no impact on the Company's financial statements and related disclosures.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies that are adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. 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.