Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2021

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Use of Estimates

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual of research and development expenses and stock-based compensation expense. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience, known trends and other market-specific or other relevant factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. On an ongoing basis, management evaluates its estimates, as there are changes in circumstances, facts and experience. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Actual results may differ from those estimates or assumptions.

Concentrations of Credit Risk and of Significant Suppliers

Concentrations of credit risk and of significant suppliers

Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities. The Company believes the depository institutions in which the cash and cash equivalents are held are of high-credit quality. The Company maintains its cash equivalents in money market funds that invest in U.S. treasury securities and highly liquid investments maturing within 90 days from the date of purchase. The Company’s marketable securities as of December 31, 2021 consisted of commercial paper, certificates of deposit, corporate debt securities and U.S. treasury securities. The Company has adopted an investment policy that limits the amounts the Company may invest in the securities of any single issuer with the exclusion of the U.S. government. The Company has not experienced any credit losses.

The Company is dependent on a small number of third-party suppliers for its drug substance and drug product. In particular, the Company relies, and expects to continue to rely, on third-party suppliers for certain materials and components required for the development of its programs and future production of any product candidates it may develop for its programs. These programs could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in the supply process.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash includes cash in readily available checking accounts and cash equivalents include money market funds that invest in U.S. treasury securities and all highly liquid investments maturing within 90 days from the date of purchase.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash

Amounts included in restricted cash represent amounts pledged as collateral for letters of credit required for security deposits on the Company’s leased facilities. Restricted cash totaled $2.7 million and $2.3 million at 2021 and 2020, respectively. These amounts are classified as restricted cash on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets.

Marketable Securities

Marketable securities

The Company’s marketable securities consist of commercial paper, certificates of deposit, U.S. treasury notes and corporate debt securities and are classified as available-for-sale and are reported at fair value. Unrealized losses on available-for-sale debt securities are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss in stockholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses are based on the specific identification method and are included as a component of other income (expense), net in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

The Company evaluates its marketable securities with unrealized losses for other-than-temporary impairment. When assessing marketable securities for other-than-temporary declines in value, the Company considers such factors as, among other things, how significant the decline in value is as a percentage of the original cost, how long the market value of the investment has been less than its original cost, the Company’s ability and intent to retain the investment for a period of time sufficient to allow for any anticipated recovery in fair value and market conditions in general. 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.

Leases

Leases

Effective January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASC 842”), using the modified retrospective approach transition method as of the date of adoption. Under ASC 842, at the inception of an arrangement, the Company determines whether the arrangement is or contains a lease based on the unique facts and circumstances presented in the arrangement, including whether the Company controls the use of identified assets. The Company classifies leases with a term greater than one year as either operating or finance leases at the lease commencement date and records a right-of-use assets and current and non-current lease liabilities, as applicable on the balance sheet. The Company has elected not to recognize on the balance sheet leases with terms of one year or less, but payments are recognized as expense on a straight-line basis over the lease term. If a lease includes options to extend the lease term, the Company does not assume the option will be exercised in its initial lease term assessment unless there is reasonable certainty that the Company will renew based on an assessment of economic factors present as of the lease commencement date. The Company monitors its plans to renew its material lease each reporting period.

Lease liabilities and the corresponding right-of-use assets are recorded based on the present value of lease payments over the remaining lease term. The present value of future lease payments are discounted using the interest rate implicit in lease contracts if that rate is readily determinable; otherwise the Company utilizes its incremental borrowing rate (“IBR”), which reflects the fixed rate at which the Company could borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term, the amount of the lease payments in a similar economic environment. After lease commencement and the establishment of a right-to-use asset and operating lease liability, lease expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

The Company enters into contracts that contain both lease and non-lease components. Non-lease components include costs that do not provide a right-to-use a leased asset but instead provide a service,

such as maintenance costs. The Company has elected to account for the lease and non-lease components together as a single component for all classes of underlying assets. Variable costs associated with the lease, such as maintenance and utilities, are not included in the measurement of right-to-use assets and lease liabilities but rather are expensed when the events determining the amount of variable consideration to be paid have occurred.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation and amortization expense is recognized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of each asset as follows:

	Estimated Useful Life
Laboratory equipment	5 years
Furnitures and fixtures	5 years
Computer equipment	3 years
Leasehold improvements	Shorter of life of lease or 10 years

Costs for capital assets not yet placed into service are capitalized as construction-in-progress and depreciated once placed into service. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of assets disposed of and the related accumulated depreciation and amortization are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is included in loss from operations. Expenditures for repairs and maintenance which do not improve or extend the life of the respective assets are charged to expense as incurred.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of long-lived assets

Long-lived assets consist of property and equipment. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its long-lived assets when circumstances indicate that an event of impairment may have occurred. The Company recognizes an impairment loss only if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable based on its undiscounted future cash flows. Impairment is measured based on the difference between the carrying value of the related assets and the fair value of such assets. The Company has not recorded any impairment charges in 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 the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is the chief executive officer (“CEO”). The CEO views the Company’s operations and manages the business as one operating segment.

Research and Development Costs

Research and development costs

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including salaries and bonuses, stock-based compensation, employee benefits, facilities costs, laboratory supplies, depreciation and amortization, manufacturing expenses and external costs of vendors engaged to conduct clinical and preclinical development activities as well as the cost of licensing technology.

Upfront payments and milestone payments made for the licensing of technology are expensed as research and development expenses 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. The prepaid amounts are expensed as the related goods are consumed or the services are performed.

Research and Manufacturing Contract Costs and Accruals

Research and manufacturing contract costs and accruals

The Company has entered into various research and development and manufacturing contracts. These agreements are generally cancelable, and related payments are recorded as the corresponding expenses are incurred. The Company records accruals for estimated ongoing costs. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued liabilities, the Company analyzes progress of the research studies 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.

Patent Costs

Patent 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.

Income Taxes

Income taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the financial statements or in the Company’s tax returns. Deferred taxes are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect in the years 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 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 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.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair value measurements

Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value. 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—Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible to the reporting entity at the measurement date for identical assets and liabilities.

•Level 2—Inputs other than quoted prices in active markets for identical assets and liabilities that are observable either directly or indirectly for substantially the full term of the asset or liability. Level 2 inputs include the following:

•quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets;

•quoted prices for identical or similar assets or liabilities in markets that are not active;

•observable inputs other than quoted prices that are used in the valuation of the asset or liabilities (e.g., interest rate and yield curve quotes at commonly quoted intervals); and

•inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by observable market data by correlation or other means.

•Level 3—Unobservable inputs for the assets or liability (i.e., supported by little or no market activity). Level 3 inputs include management’s own assumptions about the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability (including assumptions about risk).

Net Loss Per Share

Net loss per share

The Company follows the two-class method when computing net income (loss) per share as the Company has issued shares that meet the definition of participating securities. The two-class method determines net income (loss) per share for each class of common and participating securities according to dividends declared or accumulated and participation rights in undistributed earnings. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between common and participating securities based upon their respective rights to receive dividends as if all income for the period had been distributed. During periods of loss, the Company does not allocate loss to participating securities because they have no contractual obligation to share in the losses of the Company.

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net income loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Diluted net loss is computed by adjusting net loss to reallocate undistributed earnings based on the potential impact of dilutive securities. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the diluted net loss by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding for the period, including potential dilutive common shares assuming the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents.

Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock

Redeemable convertible preferred stock

The Company recorded redeemable convertible preferred stock at fair value upon issuance, net of any issuance costs. The Company classified stock that was redeemable in circumstances outside of the Company’s control outside of permanent equity. No accretion was recognized as the contingent events that could give rise to redemption were not deemed probable.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation

The Company accounts for stock option awards at fair value and measures fair value using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model as of the grant date. For restricted stock unit awards, the fair value is based on the closing price of the Company's common stock on the date of grant. Stock-based compensation costs are recognized as expense over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period, on a straight-line basis for all time-vested awards. For stock option awards with performance based vesting conditions and performance-based restricted stock unit awards, the fair value is calculated consistent with the above. The timing of expense recognition is based upon management’s estimation of the probability of the performance condition being achieved. Upon determination of the performance condition being deemed probable of achievement, expense is recognized over the remaining service period for performance-based awards. Forfeitures are recognized as they occur for all awards.

Success Fee Obligation

Success fee obligation

The Company’s loan and security agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) entered into in 2020 required the Company to pay a success fee of $0.5 million upon the occurrence of a specified liquidity event, as described in the Loan Agreement, which included the Company’s IPO. The liability was initially deemed immaterial upon entering into the Loan Agreement and was subsequently remeasured to fair value at each reporting date. Following the completion of the IPO, the success fee of $0.5 million was paid in September 2020 and no longer requires recognition.

Comprehensive Loss

Comprehensive loss

Comprehensive loss includes net loss as well as other changes in stockholders’ equity that result from transactions and economic events other than those with stockholders. The Company’s only element of other comprehensive loss was unrealized gains (losses) on marketable securities.

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Recently adopted accounting pronouncements

Prior to January 1, 2021, the Company accounted for leases under ASC 840, Leases (“ASC 840”). The Company recorded monthly rent expense on a straight-line basis, equal to the total of the payments due over the lease term, divided by the number of months of the lease term. The difference between rent expense recorded and the amount paid was charged to deferred rent.

Effective January 1, 2021, the Company adopted ASC 842, using the modified retrospective approach transition method as of the date of adoption. Under this method, financial statements for reporting periods after adoption are presented in accordance with ASC 842 and prior-period financial statements continue to be presented in accordance with ASC 840. Upon adoption, the Company recognized lease liabilities totaling $0.8 million and right-of-use assets totaling $0.7 million.