The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires the Company to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, which include, but are not limited to, estimates related to accrued expenses, contingent consideration, warrant liability, stock-based compensation expense, deferred tax valuation allowances and, prior to the Company’s IPO, the fair value of common stock. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or relevant assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates or assumptions.

Prior to the IPO, the Company utilized significant estimates and assumptions in determining the fair value of its common stock. The Company has utilized various valuation methodologies in accordance with the framework of the 2004 American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Technical Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately-Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation, to estimate the fair value of its common stock. Each valuation methodology includes estimates and assumptions that require the Company’s judgment. These estimates and assumptions include a number of objective and subjective factors, including the prices at which the Company sold shares of preferred stock and the superior rights, preferences and privileges of the preferred stock relative to the common stock; the Company’s stage of development and material risks related to its business; the progress of the Company’s research and development programs, including the status and results of preclinical studies for its product candidates and progress of its development of manufacturing processes; external market conditions affecting the biopharmaceutical industry and trends within the biopharmaceutical industry; the Company’s results of operations and financial position, including its levels of available capital resources, outstanding debt and its historical and forecasted performance and operating results; the lack of an active public market for the Company’s common stock and preferred stock; the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an IPO or sale of the Company in light of prevailing market conditions; the hiring of key personnel; and the analysis of IPOs and the market performance of publicly traded companies in the biopharmaceutical industry, as well as recently completed mergers and acquisitions of peer companies. Significant changes to the key assumptions used in the valuations could result in different fair values of common stock at each valuation date.

The Company’s sole operations consist of developing therapeutics for patients with high unmet medical need. Accordingly, the Company has determined that it operates in one operating segment. Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate financial information is evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker, who is its Chief Executive Officer, in deciding how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker allocates resources and assesses performance based upon discrete financial information at the consolidated level. All of the Company’s tangible assets are held in the United States.

Certain financial instruments are required to be recorded at fair value. Other financial instruments, like cash are recorded at cost, which approximates fair value. Cash equivalents and short-term investments are comprised of available-for-sale securities, which are carried at fair value. Additionally, carrying amounts of accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate fair value because of the short maturity of those instruments. The carrying value of the Company’s term debt approximates its fair value due to its variable interest rate, which approximates a market interest rate.

The Company relies, and expects to continue to rely, on a small number of vendors to manufacture supplies and materials for its development programs. These programs could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in these manufacturing services.

The Company accounts for leases in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification Topic 842, Leases, (“ASC 842”). The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at contract inception. A lease exists when a contract conveys the right to control the use of identified property, plant, or equipment for a period of time in exchange for consideration. The definition of a lease embodies two conditions: (1) there is an identified asset in the contract that is land or a depreciable asset (i.e., property, plant, and equipment), and (2) the Company has the right to control the use of the identified asset.

Operating leases where the Company is the lessee are included in lease receivables, operating lease right-of-use (“ROU”) assets, operating lease liabilities, current and operating lease liabilities, non-current on its consolidated balance sheets. The lease liabilities are initially and subsequently measured at the present value of the unpaid lease payments at the lease commencement date.

Lease receivables, included within prepaid and other currents assets within the consolidated balance sheets, are comprised of the expected tenant improvement reimbursement from the landlord and the rent abatement period to be recognized over the following twelve months.

ASC 842 requires a lessee to discount its unpaid lease payments using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, its incremental borrowing rate. The rates implicit in the Company’s leases are not known, therefore, the incremental borrowing rate is used based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company’s incremental borrowing rate for a lease is the rate of interest it would have to pay on a collateralized basis to borrow an amount equal to the lease payments under similar terms.

The lease term for all of the Company’s leases includes the noncancelable period of the lease. Where the Company’s lease term is impacted by options to extend or terminate the lease, when it is reasonably certain that it will exercise such option, then the lease payments are included in the measurement of the lease asset or liability.

The Company has elected not to recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for all short-term leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less. The Company recognizes the lease payments associated with its short-term leases as an expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. There are no variable lease payments associated with these leases. Additionally, the Company has elected to account for the lease and non-lease components together as a single lease component for its real estate asset class.

In March 2020, the World Health Organization made the assessment that a novel strain of coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, a novel strain of coronavirus, commonly referred to as COVID-19 had become a global pandemic. The impact of this pandemic has been and will likely continue to be extensive in many aspects of society, which has resulted in and will likely continue to result in significant disruptions to the global economy, as well as businesses and capital markets around the world.

Impacts to the Company’s business, some of which the Company has already experienced, include, but are not limited to, temporary closures of its facilities or those of its vendors, disruptions or restrictions on its employees’ ability to travel, disruptions to or delays in ongoing laboratory experiments, preclinical studies, clinical trials, third-party manufacturing supply and other operations, the diversion of healthcare resources away from the conduct of clinical trials to focus on pandemic concerns, interruptions or delays in the operations of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or other regulatory authorities, and the Company’s ability to raise capital and conduct business development activities.

The Company capitalizes certain legal, professional accounting and other third-party fees that are directly associated with in-process equity financings as deferred offering costs until such financings are consummated. After consummation of an equity financing, these costs are recorded as a reduction of additional paid-in capital generated as a result of the offering. Should the in-process equity financing be abandoned, the deferred offering costs will be expensed immediately as a charge to operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company expensed $1.8 million of costs, within general and administrative expenses, previously capitalized and associated with the Company’s abandoned efforts to complete an IPO in early 2019. Deferred offering costs of $18.3 million, incurred in connection with the Company’s July 2020 IPO, were net against the gross proceeds on the statement of stockholders’ equity (deficit) as of December 31, 2020.

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a concentration of credit risk consist of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company maintains its cash and cash equivalent balances with high-quality financial institutions and, consequently, the Company believes that such funds are subject to minimal credit risk. Deposits held at these institutions may exceed the amount of insurance provided on such deposits.

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with original final maturities of 90 days or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of deposits with financial institutions and marketable securities. Cash equivalents are reported at fair value. The Company utilizes a credit card that requires a cash collateral account to secure its outstanding balance. While cash in this account is not legally restricted, the availability of future credit is dependent upon maintenance of a compensating balance sufficient to cover outstanding balances. The balance held in this account as of both December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $0.2 million. Amounts outstanding on the credit card and recorded as accounts payable were $0.1 million and zero as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Investments with a remaining maturity when purchased of greater than three months are classified as short-term investments on the balance sheet and consist primarily of U.S. Treasury and government agency obligations. As our entire investment portfolio is considered available for use in current operations, the Company classifies all investment as available-for-sale and as current assets. Debt securities are carried at fair value with the unrealized gains and losses included in other comprehensive income (loss) as a component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Any premium or discount arising at purchase is amortized and/or accreted to interest income and/or expense over the life of the instrument. If any adjustment to fair value reflects a decline in the value of the investment that the Company considers to be “other than temporary,” the Company reduces the investment to fair value through a charge to the statement of operations and comprehensive loss. No such adjustments were necessary during the periods presented.

Other receivables is recorded at the invoiced amount and is non-interest bearing. Other receivables, net consists of reimbursements from the Company’s landlord for ongoing construction and is included within other current assets.

Intangible assets were acquired as part of a business combination and have been capitalized at their acquisition date fair value. Indefinite-lived in process research and development (“IPR&D”) is not subject to amortization but is tested annually for impairment or more frequently if there are indicators of impairment. The Company tests its indefinite-lived IPR&D annually for impairment during the fourth quarter. In testing indefinite-lived IPR&D for impairment, the Company has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances would indicate that it is more likely than not that its fair value is less than its carrying amount, or the Company can perform a quantitative impairment analysis to determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived IPR&D without performing a qualitative assessment. Qualitative factors that the Company considers include significant underperformance of the business in relation to expectations, significant negative industry or economic trends and significant changes or planned changes in the use of the assets. If the Company chooses to first assess qualitative factors and it determines that it is more likely than not that the fair value of the indefinite-lived IPR&D is less than its carrying amount, the Company would then determine the fair value of the indefinite-lived IPR&D. Under either approach, if the fair value of the indefinite-lived IPR&D is less than its carrying amount, an impairment charge would be recognized for the difference between the fair value and the carrying amount. There was no impairment of IPR&D for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

The Company additionally tests its goodwill for impairment annually during the fourth quarter, or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate an impairment may have occurred. Should an impairment exist, the impairment loss would be measured based on the excess of the carrying amount of the asset or asset group over the estimated asset’s fair value. Impairment may result from, among other things, deterioration in the performance of the acquired business, adverse results from developmental work, adverse changes in applicable laws or regulations and a variety of other circumstances. In evaluating the recoverability of the carrying value of goodwill, the Company must make assumptions regarding estimated future cash flows and other factors to determine the fair value of the acquired assets. Changes in strategy or market conditions could significantly impact those judgments in the future and require an adjustment to the recorded balances. There were no impairments of goodwill for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Property and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method, based on their estimated useful lives as follows:

Asset Classification	Estimated Useful Life (years)
Lab equipment		5
Leasehold improvements	Lesser of useful life or lease-term
Computer equipment and software		3
Furniture and fixtures		7

Maintenance and repairs are charged to expense as incurred. When assets are retired or otherwise disposed of, the cost and accumulated depreciation are removed from the Company’s consolidated balance sheet and any resulting gain or loss is reflected in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss.

Property and equipment are reviewed annually for impairment or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the carrying amount to the future net undiscounted cash flows which the assets 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 carrying amount of the assets exceeds the projected discounted future net cash flows arising from the asset. There has been no impairment of long-lived assets during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Research and development expense consists of labor, material, equipment, and allocated facilities costs of the Company’s scientific staff who are working on research and development projects. Research and development costs are charged to operations as incurred.

Upfront payments and milestone payments made for the licensing of technology are expensed as research and development in the period in which they are incurred. Advance payments for goods or services to be received in the future for use in research and development activities are recorded as prepaid expenses or other long-term assets. The advanced payments are expensed as the related goods are delivered or the services are performed.

The Company has entered into various research and development and manufacturing agreements. These agreements are generally cancelable, and related payments are recorded as the corresponding expenses are incurred. The Company records accruals for estimated costs incurred to date. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, the Company analyzes progress of the research studies or clinical trials and manufacturing activities, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Significant judgments and estimates are made in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period. Actual results could differ from the Company’s estimates. The Company’s historical accrual estimates have not been materially different from the actual costs.

All patent-related costs incurred in connection with filing and prosecuting patent applications are expensed as incurred due to the uncertainty about the recovery of the expenditure. Amounts incurred are classified as general and administrative expenses.

Equity awards to employees are measured and recognized in the consolidated financial statements based on the fair value of the award on the grant date. The Company currently uses the Black-Scholes valuation model to estimate the grant date fair value of their share-based payments. The model requires the Company to make a number of assumptions including expected volatility, risk-free interest rate, expected term and expected dividend. Stock-based compensation expense is recognized straight-line over the term of the option grant. All option grants require continued service to continue vesting. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur.

The Company recognizes the fair value of stock options granted to non-employees as stock-based compensation expense over the period in which the related services are received. Stock-based compensation expense related to stock options granted to non-employees is recognized based on the grant date fair value of awards as the stock options are earned. The Company believes that the estimated fair value of stock options is more readily measurable than the fair value of the services rendered.

In connection with the Company’s acquisition of Vindico in October 2016, the Company agreed to pay additional consideration based on the achievement of a certain developmental milestone using the acquired technology. The additional purchase consideration was payable in shares of its common stock. The number of shares of common stock issuable and the associated fair value could vary depending on (1) the price paid by investors in a qualified equity financing prior to the achievement of the milestone and (2) when and if the milestone was reached. Prior to the milestone being met, the Company classified this contingent consideration as a liability on its consolidated balance sheet that was remeasured to fair value at each reporting date, and recognized changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration liability as a component of operating expenses in its consolidated statements of operation and comprehensive loss. The Company recognized changes in the fair value of the contingent consideration liability until the milestone was met in July 2019. Upon issuance of the common stock related to the milestone in July 2019, the liability was reclassified to stockholder’s deficit, within additional paid-in capital.

Comprehensive loss includes net loss as well as other comprehensive income (loss). Other comprehensive income (loss) consists of unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities.

Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per common share, since the effects of potentially dilutive securities are anti-dilutive due to the net loss position of all periods presented.

Deferred tax assets/liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement carrying amounts of assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases, as well as net operating losses and credit carry forwards applied by the enacted tax rates expected to be in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded in the provision for income taxes. The Company assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent it believes, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established through a charge to income tax expense. Potential for recovery of deferred tax assets is evaluated by estimating the future taxable profits expected and considering prudent and feasible tax planning strategies.

The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes recognized in the consolidated financial statements by applying a two-step process to determine the amount of tax benefit to be recognized. First, the tax position must be evaluated to determine the likelihood that it will be sustained upon external examination by the taxing authorities. If the tax position is deemed more-likely-than-not to be sustained, the tax position is then assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the consolidated financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves, or unrecognized tax benefits, that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties.

The Company is an emerging growth company, as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (the “JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The FASB subsequently issued ASU 2018-10 Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases, ASU 2018-11, Leases (Topic 842): Targeted Improvements, and ASU 2019-01, Leases (Topic 842): Codification Improvements, to further amend ASU 2016-02. ASU 2016-02, as amended, provides revised guidance related to the accounting and reporting of leases, including a requirement for lessees to recognize most leases on the balance sheet. The recognition, measurement and presentation of expenses and cash flows arising from a lease by a lessee depends on its classification as a finance or operating lease. For public entities, the guidance is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, and for non-public entities, the guidance was effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, with early adoption permitted. Companies may adopt retrospectively as of the earliest period presented or retrospectively at the beginning of the period of adoption through a cumulative-effect adjustment, in each case with a number of practical expedients that entities may elect to apply. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2020, early adopting ASC 842 using a modified retrospective transition approach as of the effective date, as permitted by the amendments in ASU 2018-11, which provides an alternative modified retrospective transition method. As a result, the Company was not required to adjust its comparative period financial information for effects of the standard or make the new required lease disclosures for periods before the date of adoption. The Company has elected to adopt the package of transition practical expedients and, therefore, it has not reassessed (1) whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease, (2) lease classification for existing or expired leases or (3) the accounting for initial direct costs that were previously capitalized. The Company did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight for leases existing at the adoption date. See Note 10 for the adoption impact.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Intangibles—Goodwill and Other—Internal-Use Software (Topic 350): Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract. This standard requires capitalizing implementation costs incurred to develop or obtain internal-use software (and hosting arrangements that include an internal-use software license). The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2020 using the prospective method. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. The new standard removes certain disclosures, modifies certain disclosures and adds additional disclosures related to fair value measurement. The Company adopted this standard on January 1, 2020 using the prospective method. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements and disclosures.

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments — Credit Losses, to improve financial reporting by requiring timely recording of credit losses on loans and other financial instruments held by financial institutions and other organizations. The ASU requires the measurement of all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This guidance will become effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2023, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact ASU 2016-13 may have on its financial position and results of operations upon adoption.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 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 and also clarifies and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2021. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact ASU 2019-12 may have on its financial position and results of operations upon adoption.

Certain amounts in the consolidated financial statements have been reclassified from their original presentation to conform to current year presentation.