BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2022

BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, APDN (B.V.I.) Inc., Applied DNA Sciences Europe Limited, Applied DNA Sciences India Private Limited, ADCL and its majority–owned subsidiary, LineaRx, Inc. (“LRx”). Significant inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. To facilitate comparison of information across periods, certain reclassifications have been made to prior year amounts to conform to the current year’s presentation.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

The preparation of the financial statements in conformity with Accounting Principles Generally Accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect certain reported amounts and disclosures. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various assumptions that are believed 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. The most significant estimates include revenue recognition, recoverability of long-lived assets, including the values assigned to property and equipment, fair value calculations for warrants, contingencies, and management’s anticipated liquidity. Management reviews its estimates on a regular basis and the effects of any material revisions are reflected in the consolidated financial statements in the period they are deemed necessary. Accordingly, actual results could differ from those estimates.

Revenue Recognition

Revenue Recognition

The Company follows Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codifications (“ASC”), Revenue Recognition (“ASC 606” or “Topic 606”). The Company measures revenue at the amounts that reflect the consideration to which it is expected to be entitled in exchange for transferring control of goods and services to customers. The Company recognizes revenue either at the point in time or over the period of time that performance obligations to customers are satisfied. The Company’s contracts with customers may include multiple performance obligations (e.g. taggants, maintenance, authentication services, research and development services, etc.). For such arrangements, the Company allocates revenues to each performance obligation based on their relative standalone selling price.

Due to the short-term nature of the Company’s contracts with customers, it has elected to apply the practical expedients under Topic 606 to: (1) expense as incurred, incremental costs of obtaining a contract and (2) not adjust the consideration for the effects of a significant financing component for contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less.

Product Revenues and Authentication Services

The Company’s PCR-produced linear DNA product revenues are accounted for/recognized in accordance with contracts with customers. The Company recognizes revenue upon satisfying its promises to transfer goods or services to customers under the terms of its contracts. These performance obligations are satisfied at the point in time the Company transfers control of the goods to the customer, which in nearly all cases is when title to and risk of loss of the goods transfer to the customer. The timing of transfer of title and risk of loss is dictated by customary or explicitly stated contract terms. The Company invoices customers upon shipment, and its collection terms range, on average, from 30 to 60 days.

Authentication Services

The Company recognizes revenue for authentication services upon satisfying its promises to provide services to customers under the terms of its contracts. These performance obligations are satisfied at the point in time the Company services are complete, which in nearly all cases is when the authentication report is released to the customer.

Clinical Laboratory Testing Services

The Company records revenue for its clinical laboratory testing service contracts, which includes its COVID-19 Testing Services, upon satisfying its promise to provide services to customers under the terms of its contracts. These performance obligations are satisfied at the point in time that Company services are complete, which in nearly all cases is when the testing results are released to the customer. For those customers with a fixed monthly fee, the revenue is recognized over-time as the services are provided.

Research and Development Services

The Company records revenue for its research and development contracts using the over-time revenue recognition model. Revenue is primarily measured using the cost-to-cost method, which the Company believes best depicts the transfer of control to the customer. Under the cost-to-cost method, the extent of progress towards completion is measured based on the ratio of actual costs incurred to the total estimated costs expected upon satisfying the identified performance obligation.

Revenues are recorded proportionally as costs are incurred. For contracts where the total costs cannot be estimated, revenues are recognized for the actual costs incurred during a period until the remaining costs to complete a contract can be estimated. The Company has elected not to disclose the value of unsatisfied performance obligations for contracts with an original expected duration of one year or less.

Disaggregation of Revenue

The following table presents revenues disaggregated by our business operations and timing of revenue recognition:

	Fiscal Years Ended:
	September 30,
	2022		2021
Research and development services (over-time)	$	592,001	$	799,718
Clinical laboratory testing services (point-in-time)		10,398,782		4,231,654
Clinical laboratory services (over-time)		5,127,953		562,500
Product and authentication services (point-in-time):
Supply chain		887,061		1,003,248
Asset marking		534,594		458,409
MDx test kits and supplies		628,286		1,972,209
Total	$	18,168,677	$	9,027,738

Contract balances

As of September 30, 2022, the Company has entered into contracts with customers for which revenue has not yet been recognized. Consideration received from a customer prior to revenue recognition is recorded to a contract liability and is recognized as revenue when the Company satisfies the related performance obligations under the terms of the contract. The Company’s contract liabilities, which are reported as deferred revenue on the consolidated balance sheet, consist almost entirely of research and development contracts where consideration has been received and the development services have not yet been fully performed.

The opening and closing balances of the Company’s contract balances are as follows:

		October 1,		September 30,		$
	Balance sheet classification	2021		2022		change
Contract liabilities	Deferred revenue	$	281,000	$	563,557	$	(282,557)

		October 1,		September 30,		$
	Balance sheet classification	2020		2021		change
Contract liabilities	Deferred revenue	$	511,036	$	281,000	$	230,036

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022, the Company recognized $31,061 of revenue that was included in contract liabilities as of October 1, 2021.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021, the Company recognized $277,331 of revenue that was included in contract liabilities as of October 1, 2020.

Cash Equivalents

Cash Equivalents

For the purpose of the accompanying consolidated financial statements, all highly liquid investments with a maturity of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents. As of September 30, 2022 and 2021, cash equivalents were $15,215,285 and $6,554,948, respectively.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts Receivable

The Company provides an allowance for doubtful accounts equal to the estimated uncollectible amounts. The Company’s estimate is based on historical collection experience and a review of the current status of trade accounts receivable. It is reasonably possible that the Company’s estimate of the allowance for doubtful accounts may change.

Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the invoiced amount and do not bear interest. The Company classifies receivable amounts as current or long-term based on expected payment and records long-term accounts receivable when the collection period is expected to be greater than one year.

At September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company has an allowance for doubtful accounts of $330,853 and $29,821, respectively. The Company writes-off receivables that are deemed uncollectible.

Inventories

Inventories

Inventories, which consist primarily of raw materials, work in progress and finished goods, are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value, with cost determined by using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with ASC 740, Income Taxes (“ASC 740-10”) which requires the recognition of deferred tax liabilities and assets for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been included in the financial statement or tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax liabilities and assets are determined based on the difference between 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. Temporary differences between taxable income reported for financial reporting purposes and income tax purposes include, but not limited to, accounting for intangibles, equity-based compensation and depreciation and amortization. The Company evaluates the recoverability of deferred tax assets and establishes a valuation allowance when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax asset will not be realized. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company incurred losses from operations. Based upon these results and the trends in the Company’s performance projected for fiscal year 2022, it is more likely than not that the Company will not realize any benefit from the deferred tax assets recorded by the Company in previous periods. Management makes judgments as to the interpretation of tax laws that might be challenged upon an audit and cause changes to previous estimates of tax liability. In management’s opinion, adequate provisions for income taxes have been made for all years. If actual taxable income by tax jurisdiction varies from estimates, additional allowances or reversals of reserves may be necessary. The Company has identified its federal tax return and its state tax return in New York as “major” tax jurisdictions. Based on the Company’s evaluation, it has been concluded that there are no significant uncertain tax positions requiring recognition in the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

The Company believes that its income tax positions and deductions will be sustained on audit and does not anticipate any adjustments that will result in a material change to its financial position. It is the Company’s policy to accrue interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits as components of income tax provision. The Company did not have any accrued interest or penalties as of September 30, 2022 and 2021. Tax years 2017 through 2020 remain subject to future examination by the applicable taxing authorities.

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost and depreciated using the straight line method over their estimated useful lives. The estimated useful life for computer equipment, lab equipment and furniture is 3 years, vehicles is 5 years and leasehold improvements are amortized over the shorter of their useful life or the remaining lease terms. Property and equipment consist of:

	September 30,
	2022		2021
Computer equipment	$	—	$	—
Lab equipment		4,059,754		3,565,057
Furniture		—		—
Vehicles		108,361		108,361
Leasehold improvements		124,825		124,825
Total		4,292,940		3,798,243
Accumulated depreciation		2,069,952		774,328
Property and equipment, net	$	2,222,988	$	3,023,915

As of September 30, 2022 and 2021, there was $127,935 and $6,580 of construction in progress, respectively that was included in lab equipment. Depreciation expense for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 were $1,290,480 and $767,025, respectively.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Events relating to recoverability may include significant unfavorable changes in business conditions, recurring losses, or a forecasted inability to achieve break-even operating results over an extended period. The Company evaluates the recoverability of long-lived assets based upon forecasted undiscounted cash flows. Should impairment in value be indicated, the carrying value of long-lived assets will be adjusted, based on estimates of future discounted cash flows resulting from the use and ultimate disposition of the asset. Based on the qualitative analysis performed by management, as of September 30, 2021, the Company has recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $285,386 and $536,355 to write-off the goodwill and remaining net book value of the intangible assets, respectively. Such intangible assets were the goodwill, intellectual property and customer lists were from the Vandalia Asset Acquisition and related to the right to produce, sell and have sold, market and develop the Triathlon DNA production system. Since the Company is no longer utilizing this technology, as the Company is now using a different technology to produce these products, the impairment assessment concluded that the asset group was not recoverable and resulted in the full impairment and write-off of the goodwill and intangible assets as of September 30, 2021. See Note E below for further details.

Net Loss per Share

Net Loss per Share

The Company presents loss per share utilizing a dual presentation of basic and diluted loss per share. Basic loss per share includes no dilution and has been calculated based upon the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Dilutive common stock equivalents consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of the Company’s stock options, warrants, and secured convertible notes.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, common stock equivalent shares are excluded from the computation of the diluted loss per share as their effect would be anti-dilutive.

Securities that could potentially dilute basic net income per share in the future that were not included in the computation of diluted net loss per share because to do so would have been antidilutive for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021 are as follows:

	2022	2021
Warrants	7,313,963	745,268
Options	1,063,055	487,377
	8,377,018	1,232,645

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation for employees, directors, and nonemployees in accordance with ASC 718, Compensation (“ASC 718”). ASC 718 requires all share-based payments, including grants of employee stock options, to be recognized in the statement of operations based on their fair values. Under the provisions of ASC 718, stock-based compensation costs are measured at the grant date, based on the fair value of the award, and are recognized as expense over the requisite service period (generally the vesting period of the equity grant). The fair value of the Company’s common stock options is estimated using the Black Scholes option-pricing model with the following assumptions: expected volatility, dividend rate, risk free interest rate and the expected life. The Company expenses stock-based compensation by using the straight-line method. In accordance with ASC 740, excess tax benefits realized from the exercise of stock-based awards are classified as cash flows from operating activities. All excess tax benefits and tax deficiencies (including tax benefits of dividends on share-based payment awards) are recognized as income tax expense or benefit in the consolidated statements of operations.

Concentrations

Concentrations

Financial instruments and related items, which potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk, consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and trade receivables. The Company places its cash and cash equivalents with high credit quality institutions. At times, such investments may be in excess of the FDIC insurance limit. As of September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of approximately $14.6 million and $6.0 million in excess of the FDIC insurance limit, respectively.

The Company’s revenues earned from sale of products and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2022 included an aggregate of 58% from one customer within the MDx Testing Services segment.

The Company’s revenues earned from sale of products and services for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2021 included an aggregate of 18%, and 13%, respectively from two customers within the MDx Testing Services segment.

Two customers accounted for 89% of the Company’s accounts receivable at September 30, 2022 and two customers accounted for an aggregate of 67% of the Company’s total accounts receivable at September 30, 2021.

Research and Development

Research and Development

The Company accounts for research and development costs in accordance with the ASC 730, Research and Development (“ASC 730”). Under ASC 730, all research and development costs must be charged to expense as incurred. Accordingly, internal research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Third-party research and development costs are expensed when the contracted work has been performed. Company-sponsored research and development costs related to both present and future products are expensed in the period incurred. During the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company incurred research and development expenses of 3,926,043 and $4,164,434, respectively.

Advertising

Advertising

The Company follows the policy of charging the costs of advertising to expense as incurred. The Company charged to operations $293,395 and $283,621, as advertising costs for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, respectively.

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

Goodwill and Other Intangible Assets

The Company amortizes its intangible assets using the straight-line method over their estimated period of benefit. All of the Company’s intangible assets, except for goodwill are subject to amortization.

Goodwill arises as a result of business acquisitions. Goodwill consists of the excess of the cost of the acquisitions over the tangible and intangible assets acquired and liabilities assumed.

The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment at least annually. The Company qualitatively and quantitatively determines whether, more likely than not, the fair value exceeds the carrying amount of a reporting unit. There are numerous assumptions and estimates underlying the quantitative assessments including future earnings, long-term strategies, and the Company’s annual planning and forecasts. If these planned initiatives do not accomplish the targeted objectives, the assumptions and estimates underlying the quantitative assessments could be adversely affected and have a material effect upon the Company’s financial condition and results of operations. As of September 30, 2021, as a result of the qualitative analysis performed, the Company has recorded a non-cash impairment charge of $821,741 to write-off the goodwill and remaining net book value of the intangible assets due to a reduction in demand from certain customers and a transition in the way the product is produced for these customers, which no longer utilizes the previously purchased intellectual property.

Warrant Liabilities

Warrant Liabilities

The Company evaluated the Common Warrants and the Series A and Series B Warrants (collectively the “Warrants) in accordance with ASC 480 “Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity” and ASC 815-40, “Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity” and concluded that due to the terms of the warrant agreements, the instruments do not qualify for equity treatment. As such, the Warrants were recorded as a liability on the consolidated balance sheet and measured at fair value at inception and at each reporting date in accordance with ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurement”, with changes in fair value recognized in the consolidated statement of operations in the period of change.

Offering Costs

Offering Costs

The Company complies with the requirements of the ASC 340-10-S99-1 and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin (“SAB”) Topic 5A - “Expenses of Offering”. Offering costs consist principally of professional and underwriting fees incurred. Accordingly, in relation to the registered direct offering and the public offering (See Note H), offering costs in the aggregate of $1,766,170 were incurred, of which $98,058 was charged to additional paid in capital, and $1,668,112 was allocated to the liability classified warrants, and are included in other expense in the accompanying consolidated statement of operations for the twelve-month period ended September 30, 2022.

Segment Reporting

Segment Reporting

The Company has three reportable segments. (1) Therapeutic DNA Production Services (2) MDx Testing Services, and (3)DNA Tagging and Security Products and Services. Resources are allocated by our CEO, COO, CFO and CLO whom, collectively the Company has determined to be our Chief Operating Decision Maker (CODM). The following is a brief description of our reportable segments.

Therapeutic DNA Production Services — Segment operations consist of the manufacture of DNA for use in nucleic acid-based therapeutics.

MDx Testing Services— Segment operations consist of performing and developing clinical molecular diagnostic tests and clinical laboratory testing services. Under our MDx testing services, ADCL provides COVID-19 testing for large populations marketed under its safeCircle^TM trademark. It also includes the sales of our MDx test kits and related supplies.

DNA Tagging and Security Products and Services — Segment operations consist of the manufacture and detection of DNA for industrial supply chain security services.

The accounting policies of the segments are the same as those described in the “Summary of Accounting Policies” above. The Company evaluates the performance of its segments and allocates resources to them based on revenues and operating income (losses). Operating income (loss) includes intersegment revenues, as well as a charge allocating all corporate headquarters costs. Since each vertical has shared employee resources, payroll and certain other general expense such as rent, and utilities were allocated based on an estimate by management of the percentage of employee time spent in each vertical. Segment assets are not reported to, or used by, the CODM to allocate resources to, or assess performance of, the segments and therefore, total segment assets have not been disclosed.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The valuation techniques utilized are based upon observable and unobservable inputs. Observable inputs reflect market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs reflect internal market assumptions. These two types of inputs create the following fair value hierarchy:

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

NOTE C – BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF ACCOUNTING POLICIES, continued

Level 2 — Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are not active or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the related asset or liabilities.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to the fair value of assets or liabilities.

The Company utilizes observable market inputs (quoted market prices) when measuring fair value whenever possible.

For fair value measurements categorized within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy, the Company’s accounting and finance department, which reports to the Chief Financial Officer, determine its valuation policies and procedures. The development and determination of the unobservable inputs for Level 3 fair value measurements and fair value calculations are the responsibility of the Company’s accounting and finance department and are approved by the Chief Financial Officer.

As of September 30, 2022, there were no transfers between Levels 1, 2 and 3 of the fair value hierarchy.

Recent Accounting Standards

Recent Accounting Standards

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 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).” The objective of this update is to simplify the accounting for convertible preferred stock by removing the existing guidance in ASC 470-20, “Debt: Debt with Conversion and Other Options,”, that requires entities to account for beneficial conversion features and cash conversion features in equity, separately from the host convertible debt or preferred stock. The guidance in ASC 470-20 applies to convertible instruments for which the embedded conversion features are not required to be bifurcated from the host contract and accounted for as derivatives. In addition, the amendments revise the scope exception from derivative accounting in ASC 815-40 for freestanding financial instruments and embedded features that are both indexed to the issuer’s own stock and classified in stockholders’ equity, by removing certain criteria required for equity classification. These amendments are expected to result in more freestanding financial instruments qualifying for equity classification (and, therefore, not accounted for as derivatives), as well as fewer embedded features requiring separate accounting from the host contract. This amendment also further revises the guidance in ASU 260, “Earnings per Share,” to require entities to calculate diluted earnings per share (EPS) for convertible instruments by using the if-converted method. In addition, entities must presume share settlement for purposes of calculating diluted EPS when an instrument may be settled in cash or shares. The amendments in ASU 2020-06 are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect the adoption of ASU 2020-06 to have a significant impact on its consolidated financial statements.