SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 3 - SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Use of Estimates and Assumptions

Preparation of the consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the consolidated financial statements and disclosed in the accompanying notes. Actual results may differ from those estimates and such differences may be material to the consolidated financial statements. The more significant estimates and assumptions by management include, but are not limited to, the expense recognition for certain accrued research and development services.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

For purposes of the consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of cash flows, the Company considers all highly liquid instruments with maturity of three months or less at the time of issuance to be cash equivalents.

Concentrations of Credit Risk and Off-Balance Sheet Risk

Cash and cash equivalents are financial instruments that are potentially subject to concentrations of credit risk. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are deposited in accounts at large financial institutions and amounts currently exceed federally insured limits. The Company has no financial instruments with off-balance sheet risk of loss. Additionally, the Company had a concentration in accounts payable, as two research and development vendors made up greater than 10% individually, and 38% and 65% in aggregate, of the outstanding accounts payable balance as of December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment include office and laboratory equipment that is recorded at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of five to six years. Property and equipment are fully depreciated as such there is no depreciation recognized in the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

Fair Value Measurement

ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements, (“ASC 820”) provides guidance on the development and disclosure of fair value measurements. Under this accounting guidance, fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between willing market participants at the measurement date. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.

The accounting guidance classifies fair value measurements in one of the following three categories for disclosure purposes:

Level 1:	Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
Level 2:	Inputs other than Level 1 prices for similar assets or liabilities that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
Level 3:	Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity and values determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, as well as instruments for which the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation.

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

The Company evaluates assets and liabilities subject to fair value measurements on a recurring basis to determine the appropriate level at which to classify them for each reporting period. This determination requires significant judgments to be made by the Company.

As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the recorded values of cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses, accounts payable, and accrued expenses and other liabilities approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these items.

2021 Notes

In 2021 the Company issued convertible notes with a face value of $15.9 million. The Company elected the fair value option to account for the convertible notes as it believes the fair value option provides users of the financial statements with greater ability to estimate the outcome of future events as facts and circumstances change, particularly with respect to changes in the fair value of the common stock underlying the conversion option and redemption feature. The fair value estimate of the 2021 Notes was based on a discounted cash flow model and a Monte Carlo simulation, which represent Level 3 measurements. Significant assumptions include the discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model and the expected premium for conversion and expected volatility used in the Monte Carlo simulation. Changes in the fair value of the notes are recognized in other income (expense) for each reporting period. Refer to Note 7 for details of the terms and conditions of the 2021 Notes.

2022 Notes

In July 2022 the Company issued convertible notes with a face value of $8.5 million. The 2022 Notes are accounted for under ASC 480 – Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity, due to share settlement features contained within the notes. As a result, the 2022 Notes are recorded as liabilities at fair value at the balance sheet date with changes in the fair value of the notes recognized in other income (expense) for each reporting period. The fair value estimate of the 2022 Notes was based on a discounted cash flow model and a Monte Carlo simulation, which represent Level 3 measurements. Significant assumptions include the discount rate used in the discounted cash flow model and the expected premium for conversion and expected volatility used in the Monte Carlo simulation. Refer to Note 7 for details of the terms and conditions of the 2022 Notes.

Warrants

In 2021 the Company issued liability classified warrants in connection with the issuance of the 2021 Notes. In 2022 the Company issued liability classified warrants in connection with the issuance of the 2022 Notes. The warrants were liability classified due to certain cash settlement features and included in “Other long-term liabilities” on the consolidated balance sheets. The Company uses a Black Scholes model to estimate the fair value of the warrants. Changes in the fair value of the warrants are recognized in other income (expense) for each reporting period. Refer to Note 8 for additional details of the warrants.

The following tables present assets and liabilities measured and recorded at fair value on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023 and 2022.

	December 31, 2023
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Liability classified warrants	$	26,388	$	-	$	-	$	26,388
Total	$	26,388	$	-	$	-	$	26,388

	December 31, 2022
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Fair value of convertible note	$	4,203,579	$	-	$	-	$	4,203,579
Liability classified warrants		310,346		-		-		310,346
Total	$	4,513,925	$	-	$	-	$	4,513,925

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

The following table summarizes the change in fair value of the Company’s Level 3 assets and liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2023:

	For the year ended December 31, 2023
	Total			Convertible note			Liability classified warrants
Fair value, December 31, 2022	$	4,513,925		$	4,203,579		$	310,346
Conversions		(3,056,892	)		(3,056,892	)		-
Cash payments		(415,351	)		(415,351	)		-
Cash true up liability		(584,857	)		(584,857	)		-
Change in fair value		(430,437	)		(146,479	)		(283,958	)
Fair value, December 31, 2023	$	26,388		$	-		$	26,388

Federal Grants

In September 2018, the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) through the National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded the Company a research and development grant related to the development of its MPAR® overdose prevention technology (the “MPAR Grant”). The total approved budget for the initial two-year period was approximately $5.4 million ($3.2 million and $2.2 million in years 1 and 2 respectively) of which the Company would contribute $1.1 million in the first year of the grant. In August 2019, the grant was amended such that the approved budget for the two-year period decreased to approximately $5.1 million ($2.1 million and $3.0 million in years 1 and 2, respectively). In June 2021, the Company received a Notice of Award for an additional $2.8 million of funding in year 3 under the MPAR Grant beginning July 1, 2021. In June 2022, the Company received a Notice of Award for an additional $2.8 million of funding in year 4 under the MPAR Grant from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. This brings total funding under this grant to approximately $10.7 million.

In September 2019, the NIH/National Institute on Drug Abuse awarded the Company a second research and development grant related to the development of its TAAP/MPAR® abuse deterrent technology for Opioid Use Disorder (the “OUD Grant”). The total approved budget for the grant was approximately $5.4 million, and the current grant period ends in August of 2024. As of December 31, 2023, the remaining funding under the grant is $2.2 million

The Company recognizes revenue when costs related to the grants are incurred and assessed as reimbursable. The Company believes this policy is consistent with the overarching premise in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”), applied by analogy, to ensure that it recognizes revenues to reflect the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which it expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services, even though there is no “exchange” as defined in ASC 606. The Company believes the recognition of revenue as costs are incurred and reimbursable amounts become due is analogous to the concept of transfer of control of a service over time under ASC 606.

The revenue recognized under the MPAR Grant and OUD Grant was as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
MPAR	$	1,293,238	$	2,006,885
TAAP/OUD		937,282		516,498
Total	$	2,230,520	$	2,523,383

Amounts requested or eligible to be requested through the NIH payment management system, but for which cash has not been received, are presented as an unbilled receivable on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet. As all amounts are expected to be remitted timely, no valuation allowances are recorded.

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Research and Development Costs

The Company’s research and development expenses consist primarily of third-party research and development expenses, consulting expenses, animal and clinical studies, and any allocable direct overhead, including facilities and depreciation costs, as well as salaries, payroll taxes, and employee benefits for those individuals directly involved in ongoing research and development efforts. Research and development expenses are charged to expense as incurred. Payments made prior to the receipt of goods or services to be used in research and development are capitalized until the goods or services are received.

General and Administrative Expenses

General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs associated with the Company’s executive, finance, human resources, compliance, and other administrative personnel, as well as accounting and legal professional services fees.

Stock-based Compensation

The Company expenses stock-based compensation over the requisite service period based on the estimated grant-date fair value of the awards using a graded amortization approach. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.

The Company estimates the fair value of stock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based awards represent management’s best estimates and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. Stock-based compensation costs are recorded in research and development and general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

From time-to-time equity classified awards may be modified. On the modification date, the Company estimates the fair value of the awards immediately before and immediately after modification. The incremental increase in fair value is recognized as expense immediately to the extent the underlying equity awards are vested and on a straight-line basis over the same remaining amortization schedule as the unvested underlying equity awards.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are recorded in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740”), which provides for deferred taxes using an asset and liability approach. The Company recognizes deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the consolidated financial statements or tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the consolidated 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 Company accounts for uncertain tax positions in accordance with the provisions of ASC 740. 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 recognizes any interest and penalties accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits as income tax expense.

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements

Earnings per Share

The basic earnings per share is calculated by dividing the Company’s net income or loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The diluted earnings per share is calculated by dividing the Company’s net earnings attributable to common stockholders by the diluted weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, determined using the treasury stock method and the average stock price during the period.

The following weighted average shares have been excluded from the calculations of diluted weighted average common shares outstanding because they would have been anti-dilutive (the Company has utilized the principal balance outstanding and the end of period conversion price for the Convertible Notes for the purposes of the weighted average share calculation below):

	Year Ended December 31,
	2023		2022
Stock options		131,767		26,302
RSUs		-		3,772
Warrants		3,798,114		138,485
Convertible Notes		1,171,292		73,326
Total		5,101,173		241,885

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06, Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Topic 470) to address issues identified as a result of the complexity with applying GAAP for certain financial instruments with characteristics of liabilities and equity. The FASB decided to reduce the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock, resulting in fewer embedded conversion features being separately recognized from the host contract as compared with current GAAP. Certain types of convertible instruments will continue to be subject to separation models: (a) those with embedded conversion features that are not clearly and closely related to the host contract, that meet the definition of a derivative, and that do not qualify for a scope exception from derivative accounting and (b) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in capital. For convertible instruments, the contracts primarily affected are those with beneficial conversions or cash conversion features as the accounting models for those specific features have been removed. For contracts in an entity’s own equity, the contracts primarily affected are freestanding instruments and embedded features that are accounted for as derivatives due to a failure to meet the settlement conditions of the derivatives scope exceptions. The FASB simplified the settlement assessment by removing the requirements to (a) consider whether the contract would be settled in registered shares, (b) to consider whether collateral is required to be posted, and (c) assess shareholder rights. The FASB also decided to enhance information transparency by making targeted improvements to the disclosures for convertible instruments and earnings-per-share guidance. ASU 2020-06 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company adopted the standard with an effective date of January 1, 2023 and the adoption did not have a significant impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, “Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures”, which sets forth improvements to the current segment disclosure requirements in accordance with Topic 280 “Segment Reporting,” including clarifying that entities with a single reportable segment are subject to both new and existing segment reporting requirements. ASU 2023-07 will be effective retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2024. Adoption of this ASU is currently being evaluated by the Company.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09, “Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures.” ASU 2023-09 requires disaggregated information about a reporting entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation as well as information on income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 is effective for public entities with annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Ensysce Biosciences, Inc.

Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements