Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

2. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Elevation Oncology Securities Corporation, which was established on November 19, 2021. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Basis of presentation of unaudited interim consolidated financial statements

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and, in the opinion of management, include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of the interim periods shown. The December 31, 2021 condensed consolidated balance sheet was derived from the December 31, 2021 audited consolidated financial statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such SEC rules and regulations. Management believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022.

The accompanying condensed consolidated interim financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements and the notes thereto included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021 (the “Annual Report”).

Significant accounting policies

Use of estimates

The preparation of the Company’s condensed consolidated interim financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires the use of estimates and assumptions, based on judgments considered reasonable, which affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on known trends and events and various other factors that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Due to the risks and uncertainties involved in the Company’s business and evolving market conditions and, given the subjective element of the estimates and assumptions made, actual results may differ from estimated results.

Deferred offering costs

The Company capitalizes certain legal, accounting and other third-party fees that are directly associated with in-process preferred stock, common stock financings or debt financings as deferred offering costs until such financings are consummated. After consummation of the equity financing, these costs are recorded as a reduction to the carrying value

of convertible preferred stock, in stockholders’ equity or debt as a reduction of additional paid-in capital generated or deduction of loan balance as a result of the offering. Should a planned equity financing or debt financing be abandoned, the deferred offering costs are expensed immediately as a charge to operating expenses in the consolidated statements of operations.

Deferred Financing Costs

The incremental cost, including the fair value of warrants, directly associated with obtaining debt financing is capitalized as deferred financing costs upon the issuance of the debt and amortized over the term of the related debt agreement using the effective-interest method with such amortized amounts included as a component of interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations. Unamortized deferred financing costs are presented on the consolidated balance sheets as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt obligation.

Concentrations of credit risk and significant suppliers

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company’s money market funds are invested in highly rated funds. Periodically, the Company maintains deposits in accredited financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on its deposits of cash and cash equivalents and does not believe that it is exposed to any unusual credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships.

The Company is dependent on third-party manufacturers to supply products for research and development activities of its programs, including preclinical and clinical testing. These programs could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in the supply of such drug substance and drug products. During each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022, the Company had one and three vendors that accounted for approximately 80% and 81% of its research and development expense, respectively. During the three months ended September 30, 2021, the Company had three vendors that accounted for approximately 74% its research and development expense. During the nine months ended September 30, 2021, the Company had two vendors that accounted for approximately 58% its research and development expense. As of September 30, 2022, the Company had one vendor that accounted for approximately 85% of the total accounts payable. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had one vendor that accounted for approximately 74% of the total accounts payable.

Fair value measurements

Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under U.S. 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 (other than Level 1 quoted prices), 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—Non-observable 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 carrying amounts of certain of the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other current assets and accounts payable, approximate fair value due to the short-term nature of these items.

Marketable Securities, Available for Sale

All marketable securities have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at fair value, based upon quoted market prices. The Company considers its available-for-sale portfolio as available for use in current operations. Accordingly, the Company may classify certain investments as short-term marketable securities, even though the stated maturity date may be one year or more beyond the current balance sheet date.

Unrealized gains and losses, net of any related tax effects, are excluded from earnings and are included in other comprehensive income (loss) and reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity (deficit) until realized. Interest income, realized gains and losses, and declines in value judged to be other than temporary, if any, on available-for-sale securities are included in other income, net. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific-identification method. The amortized cost of securities is adjusted for accretion of premiums and amortization of discounts to maturity. In accordance with the Company’s investment policy, management invests in money market funds, corporate bonds, commercial paper, asset-backed securities and government securities. The Company has not realized any losses on its marketable securities to date.

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The Company’s only element of other comprehensive income (loss) is unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale marketable securities.

Patent costs

The legal and professional costs incurred by the Company to maintain its patent rights are expensed and included as part of general and administrative expenses. As of September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company has determined that these expenses have not met the criteria to be capitalized. Intellectual property related expenses for each of the three months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were less than $0.1 million. Intellectual property related expenses for the nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $0.3 million and $0.2 million, respectively.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

In June 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Statements (“ASU 2016-13”). The new standard requires that expected credit losses relating to financial assets measured on an amortized cost basis and available-for-sale debt securities be recorded through an allowance for credit losses. It also limits the amount of credit losses to be recognized for available-for-sale debt securities to the amount by which carrying value exceeds fair value and also requires the reversal of previously recognized credit losses if fair value increases. The targeted transition relief standard allows filers an option to irrevocably elect the fair value option of ASC 825-10, Financial Instruments-Overall, applied on an instrument-by-instrument basis for eligible instruments. The Company adopted ASU 2016-13 on January 1, 2022, using the modified retrospective method for all financial assets measured at amortized cost. The adoption of ASU 2016-13 did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations upon adoption.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes. Among other items, the amendments in ASU 2019-12 simplify the accounting treatment of tax law changes and year-to-date losses in interim periods. An entity generally recognizes the effects of a change in tax law in the period of enactment; however, there is an exception for tax laws with delayed effective dates. Under current guidance, an entity may not adjust its annual effective tax rate for a tax law change until the period in which the law is effective. This exception was removed under ASU 2019-12, thereby providing that all effects of a tax law change are recognized in the period of enactment, including adjustment of the estimated annual effective tax rate. Regarding year-to-date losses in interim periods, an entity is required to estimate its annual effective tax rate for the full fiscal year at the end of each interim period and use that rate to calculate its income taxes on a year-to-date basis. However, current guidance provides an exception that when a loss in an interim period exceeds the anticipated loss for the year, the income tax benefit is limited to the amount that would be recognized if the year-to-date loss were the anticipated loss for the full year. ASU 2019-12 removes this exception and provides that in this situation, an entity would compute its income tax benefit at each interim period based on its estimated annual effective tax rate. ASU 2019-12 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15,

2021, with early adoption permitted. The Company adopted ASU 2019-12 on January 1, 2022. The adoption of the standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position, results of operations or cash flows.

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU 2020-06, ASC Subtopic 470-20 “Debt-Debt with “Conversion and Other Options” and ASC subtopic 815-40 “Hedging-Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity”. The standard reduced the number of accounting models for convertible debt instruments and convertible preferred stock. Convertible instruments that continue to be subject to separation models are (1) 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, (2) convertible debt instruments issued with substantial premiums for which the premiums are recorded as paid-in capital. ASU 2020-06 removes from U.S. GAAP the separation models for (1) convertible debt with a CCF and (2) convertible instruments with a beneficial conversion feature (“BCF”). With the adoption of ASU 2020-06, entities will not separately present in equity an embedded conversion feature these debts. The amendments in this update are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years, for public business entities that are not smaller reporting companies. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, including interim periods within those fiscal years. For other entities, it is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023. The Company has chosen to early adopt this standard on January 1, 2022. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.