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Organization and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation and Use of Estimates
Use of Estimates
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that 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 revenues and expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, the Company evaluates its estimates, judgments and assumptions. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that it believes are reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets, liabilities and equity and the amount of revenue and expense. Actual results could materially differ from those estimates.
Variable Interest Entity
Variable Interest Entity (“VIE”)
A VIE is an entity that, by design, either (i) lacks sufficient equity to permit the entity to finance its activities without additional subordinated financial support from other parties; or (ii) has equity investors that do not have the ability to make significant decisions relating to the entity’s operations through voting rights, or do not have the obligation to absorb the expected losses, or do not have the right to receive the residual returns of the entity. The primary beneficiary of a VIE is required to consolidate the assets and liabilities of the VIE. The primary beneficiary is the party that has both (i) the power to direct the activities of the VIE that most significantly impact the VIE’s economic performance, and (ii) the obligation to absorb losses or the right to receive benefits from the VIE that could potentially be significant to the VIE through its interest in the VIE.
On April 25, 2022, the Company entered into a license agreement with Visirna (Note 2) and consolidated Visirna’s financial statements in which the Company has a direct controlling financial interest based on the VIE model.
The Company considers all the facts and circumstances, including its role in establishing Visirna and its ongoing rights and responsibilities to assess whether the Company has the power to direct the activities of Visirna. In general, the parties that make the most significant decisions affecting a VIE and have the right to unilaterally remove those decision-makers are deemed to have the power to direct the activities of a VIE.
The Company also considers all of its economic interests to assess whether the Company has the obligation to absorb losses of Visirna or the right to receive benefits from it that could potentially be significant to Visirna. This assessment requires the Company to apply judgment in determining whether these interests, in the aggregate, are considered potentially significant to Visirna. Factors considered in assessing the significance include: the design of the Visirna, including its capitalization structure, subordination of interests, payment priority, and the reasons why the interests are held by the Company.
At Visirna’s inception, the Company determined whether it was the primary beneficiary and if Visirna should be consolidated based on the facts and circumstances. The Company performs ongoing reassessments of the VIE based on reconsideration events and reevaluates whether a change to the consolidation is required. As of September 30, 2023, there were no events to be reconsidered in the consolidation.
Cash and Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
Cash, Cash Equivalents and Restricted Cash
All highly liquid interest-bearing investments are classified as cash equivalents. These investments mainly include commercial paper with maturities of three months or less when purchased. The carrying value of these cash equivalents approximate fair value.
There was $7.9 million and $7.3 million restricted cash at September 30, 2023 and 2022, respectively, that is primarily held as collateral associated with letters of credit for the Company’s facility leases.
Concentration of Credit Risk
Concentration of Credit Risk
Financial instruments that potentially expose the Company to concentration of credit risk primarily consist of cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash and investments. As of September 30, 2023 and 2022, the Company’s investments were primarily invested in money market funds, certificates of deposit, commercial paper, and corporate debt securities through highly rated financial institutions. The Company also maintains several bank accounts primarily at three financial institutions for its operations. These accounts are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000 per institution. Management believes the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which these deposits are held.
Investments
Investments
Investment securities are mainly held-to-maturity investments, available-for-sale, and marketable securities.
These held-to-maturity investments may consist of investment-grade interest bearing instruments, primarily money market accounts, government-sponsored enterprise securities, corporate bonds and/or commercial paper, which are stated at amortized cost. The Company does not intend to sell these investment securities and the contractual maturities are not greater than 36 months. Those with maturities less than twelve months are included in short-term investments on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets, while those with remaining maturities in excess of twelve months are included in long-term investments on its consolidated balance sheets. Discounts and premiums to par value of the debt securities are amortized to interest income/expense over the term of the security, and no gains or losses on held-to-maturity investment are realized until they are sold. The Company reassesses the classification of held-to-maturity at each reporting period.
The available-for-sale investments may consist of investment-grade interest bearing instruments, primarily money market accounts, government-sponsored enterprise securities, corporate bonds and/or commercial paper, which are accounted for at fair value. Changes in fair values are reported as unrealized gains or losses and are recorded in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. On September 30, 2023, the Company changed the classification of debt securities to available-for-sale from held-to-maturity. As a result, these debt securities are carried at fair value.
The Company’s marketable debt securities consisted of mutual funds that primarily invest in U.S. government bonds, U.S. government agency bonds, and corporate bonds. Dividends from these funds were automatically re-invested. These securities were recorded at fair value, and all unrealized gains/losses were recorded in the Company’s consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. In April 2022, the Company sold all of its investments in mutual funds for $122.3 million.
The Company monitors its investments closely. If an unrealized loss is determined to be other-than-temporary, it is written off as a realized loss through the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. The Company’s methodology of assessing other-than-temporary impairments is based on security-specific analysis as of the balance sheet date and considers various factors, including the length of time to maturity and the extent to which the fair value has been less than the cost, recoverability of future cash flows as compared to carrying value of the security, the financial condition and the near-term prospects of the issuer, and the Company’s ability and intent to hold the security. If a decline in fair value of investments is determined to be other-than-temporary, the securities are written down to fair value as the new cost basis and the amount of the write down is accounted for as realized losses. The Company did not recognize any other-than-temporary impairments of its investment for the years ended September 30, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
Property and Equipment
Property and Equipment
Property and equipment are recorded at cost. Depreciation of property and equipment is recorded using the straight-line method over the respective useful lives of the assets ranging from three to seven years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the expected useful life or the remaining lease term.
The Company periodically assesses long-lived assets or asset groups, including property and equipment, for recoverability when events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the Company identifies an indicator of impairment, the Company assesses recoverability by comparing the carrying amount of the asset to the sum of the undiscounted cash flows expected to result from the use and the eventual disposal of the asset.
An impairment loss is recognized when the carrying amount is not recoverable and is measured as the excess of carrying value over fair value. There were no impairment charges during the years ended September 30, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
Intangible Assets subject to amortization
Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization
Intangible assets subject to amortization include certain patents and license agreements. The Company qualitatively evaluates intangible assets for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that it is more likely than not that the carrying amount of intangible assets may exceed their implied fair values. As of September 30, 2023 and 2022, intangible impairment assessments indicated that there was no impairment.
Leases
Leases
The Company determines whether a contract is, or contains, a lease at inception. All of the Company’s leases are classified as operating leases. Leases with terms greater than one-year are recognized on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets as right-of-use assets that represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term, and lease liabilities that represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Lease assets and liabilities are recognized at the lease commencement date based on the estimated present value of lease payments over the expected lease term.
The interest rate implicit in lease contracts is typically not readily determinable. As such, the Company utilizes the appropriate incremental borrowing rate, which is the rate incurred to borrow on a collateralized basis an amount equal to the lease payments over a similar term and in a similar economic environment. The Company records expense to recognize lease payments on a straight-line basis over the expected lease term. Costs determined to be variable and not based on an index or rate are not included in the measurement of the lease liability and are expensed as incurred.
Revenue Recognition
Revenue Recognition
The revenue standard provides a five-step framework for recognizing revenue as control of promised goods or services is transferred to a customer at an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements that it determines are within the scope of the revenue standard, the Company performs the following five steps: (i) identify the contract; (ii) identify the performance obligations; (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) recognize revenue when (or as) the Company satisfies a performance obligation. At contract inception, the Company assesses whether the goods or services promised within each contract are distinct and, therefore, represent a separate performance obligation, or whether they are not distinct and are combined with other goods and services until a distinct bundle is identified. The Company then determines the transaction price, which typically includes upfront payments and any variable consideration that it determines is probable to not cause a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is resolved. The Company then allocates the transaction price to each performance obligation and recognizes the associated revenue when (or as) each performance obligation is satisfied.
The Company recognizes the transaction price allocated to upfront license payments as revenue upon delivery of the license to the customer and resulting ability of the customer to use and benefit from the license, if the license is determined to be distinct from the other performance obligations identified in the contract. These other performance obligations are typically to perform research and development services for the customer, often times relating to the candidate that the customer is licensing. If the license is not considered to be distinct from other performance obligations, the Company assesses the nature of the combined performance obligation to determine whether the combined performance obligation is satisfied at a point in time or over time. If the performance obligation is satisfied over time, the Company then determines the appropriate method of measuring progress for purposes of recognizing revenue from license payments. The Company evaluates the measure of progress each reporting period and, if necessary, adjusts the related revenue recognition.
Typically, the Company’s collaboration agreements entitle it to additional payments upon the achievement of milestones or royalties on sales. The milestones are generally categorized into three types: development milestones, generally based on the initiation of toxicity studies or clinical trials; regulatory milestones, generally based on the submission, filing or approval of regulatory applications such as a Clinical Trial Application (“CTA”) or a New Drug Application (“NDA”) in the United States; and sales-based milestones, generally based on meeting specific thresholds of sales in certain geographic areas. The Company evaluates whether it is probable that the consideration associated with each milestone or royalty will not be subject to a significant reversal in the cumulative amount of revenue recognized. Amounts that meet this threshold are included in the transaction price using the most likely amount method, whereas amounts that do not meet this threshold are excluded from the transaction price until they meet this threshold. At the end of each subsequent reporting period, the Company re-evaluates the probability of a significant reversal of the cumulative revenue recognized for its milestones and royalties, and, if necessary, adjusts its estimate of the overall transaction price. Any such adjustments are recorded on a cumulative catch-up basis, which would affect revenues and net income in the Company’s consolidated statements of operation and comprehensive loss. Typically, milestone payments and royalties are achieved after the Company’s performance obligations associated with the collaboration agreements have been completed and after the customer has assumed responsibility for the respective clinical or preclinical program. Milestones or royalties achieved after the Company’s performance obligations have been completed are recognized as revenue in the period the milestone or royalty was achieved. If a milestone payment is achieved during the performance period, the milestone payment would be recognized as revenue to the extent performance had been completed at that point, and the remaining balance would be recorded as deferred revenue.
The revenue standard requires the Company to assess whether a significant financing component exists in determining the transaction price. The Company performs this assessment at the onset of its licensing or collaboration agreements. Typically, a significant financing component does not exist because the customer is paying for a license or services in advance with an upfront payment. Additionally, future royalty payments are not substantially within the control of the Company or the customer.
Further, the revenue standard requires the Company to allocate the arrangement consideration on a relative standalone selling price basis for each performance obligation after determining the transaction price of the contract and identifying the performance obligations to which that amount should be allocated. The relative standalone selling price is defined in the revenue standard as the price at which an entity would sell a promised good or service separately to a customer. If other observable transactions in which the Company has sold the same performance obligation separately are not available, the Company estimates the standalone selling price of each performance obligation. Key assumptions to determine the standalone selling price may include forecasted revenues, development timelines, reimbursement rates for personnel costs, discount rates and probabilities of technical and regulatory success.
Whenever the Company determines that goods or services promised in a contract should be accounted for as a combined performance obligation over time, the Company determines the period over which the performance obligations will be performed and revenue will be recognized. Revenue is recognized using the input method; Labor hours, costs incurred or patient visits in clinical trials are typically used as the measure of performance. Significant management judgment is required in determining the level of effort required under an arrangement and the period over which the Company is expected to complete its performance obligations. If the Company determines that the performance obligation is satisfied over time, any upfront payment received is initially recorded as deferred revenue on its consolidated balance sheets.
Certain judgments affect the application of the Company’s revenue recognition policy. For example, the Company records short-term (less than one year) and long-term (over one year) deferred revenue based on its best estimate of when such revenue will be recognized. This estimate is based on the Company’s current operating plan and, the Company may recognize a different amount of deferred revenue over the next 12-month period if its plan changes in the future.
Collaborative Arrangement
Collaborative Arrangements
The Company analyzes its collaborative arrangements to assess whether such arrangements involve joint operating activities performed by parties that are both active participants in the activities and exposed to significant risks and rewards, and therefore are within the scope of Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Topic 808 - Collaborative Arrangements. For collaborative arrangements that contain multiple elements, the Company determines which units of account are deemed to be within the scope of Topic 808 and which units of account are more reflective of a vendor-customer relationship, and therefore are within the scope of Topic 606. For units of account that are accounted for pursuant to Topic 808, an appropriate recognition method is determined and applied consistently, either by analogy to appropriate accounting literature or by applying a reasonable accounting policy election. For collaborative arrangements that are within the scope of Topic 808, the Company evaluates the income statement classification for presentation of amounts due to or owed from other participants associated with multiple units of account in a collaborative arrangement based on the nature
of each activity. Payments or reimbursements that are the result of a collaborative relationship instead of a customer relationship, such as co-development and co-commercialization activities, are recorded as increases or decreases to research and development expense or general and administrative expense, as appropriate.
Research and Development
Research and Development
Costs and expenses that can be clearly identified as research and development are charged to expense as incurred. Included in research and development costs are operating costs, facilities, supplies, external services, clinical trial and manufacturing costs, overhead directly related to the Company’s research and development operations, and costs to acquire technology licenses.
Stock-Based Compensation
Stock-Based Compensation
Share-based compensation expenses for all stock grants are based on their estimated grant-date fair value. The fair value of stock option awards is estimated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model which requires the input of subjective assumptions to calculate the value of stock options. For restricted stock units, the value of the award is based on the Company’s stock price at the grant date. For performance-based restricted stock unit awards, the value of the award is based on the Company’s stock price at the grant date, with consideration given to the probability of the performance condition being achieved. The Company uses historical data and other information to estimate the expected price volatility and the expected forfeiture rate for stock option awards. Expense is recognized over the vesting period for all awards and commences at the grant date for time-based awards and upon the Company’s determination that the achievement of such performance conditions is probable for performance-based awards. This determination requires significant judgment by management.
Income Taxes
Income Taxes
Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial reporting basis and the respective tax basis of the Company’s assets and liabilities, and expected benefits of utilizing net operating loss, capital loss, and tax-credit carryforwards. The Company assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be realized and, to the extent management does not believe these assets are more likely than not to be realized, a valuation allowance is established. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates or laws is recognized in earnings in the period that includes the enactment date.
Earnings per Share
Earnings per Share
Basic earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted earnings per share is computed using the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive potential common shares outstanding during the period. Dilutive potential common shares primarily consist of stock options and restricted stock units outstanding.
During the years ended September 30, 2023, 2022 and 2021, the calculation of the effect of dilutive stock options and restricted stock units excluded all stock options and restricted stock units outstanding during the period due to their anti-dilutive effect.
Foreign Currency Translation Adjustments
Foreign currency translation adjustments
One of the Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries’ functional currencies are not the United States dollar, which is the Company’s reporting currency. Assets and liabilities are translated at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at the average rate of exchange prevailing during the reporting period. Translation adjustments arising from the use of different exchange rates from period to period are included in the accumulated other comprehensive loss.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
There have been no recent accounting pronouncements that have significantly impacted this Annual Report on Form 10-K.