1. ORGANIZATION, LIQUIDITY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2018

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

ORGANIZATION, LIQUIDITY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

1. ORGANIZATION, LIQUIDITY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES 

ORGANIZATION

Aethlon Medical, Inc. and subsidiary (collectively, “Aethlon”, the “Company”, “we” or “us”) is a medical technology company focused on addressing unmet needs in global health and biodefense. The Aethlon Hemopurifier® is an early clinical-stage therapeutic device designed for the single-use removal of life-threatening viruses from the circulatory system of infected individuals. We believe the Hemopurifier can be a part of the broad-spectrum treatment of life-threatening highly glycosylated viruses that are not addressed with an already approved treatment countermeasure objectives set forth by the U.S. Government to protect citizens from bioterror and pandemic threats. In small-scale or early feasibility human studies, the Hemopurifier has been administered to individuals infected with HIV, Hepatitis-C, and Ebola. Additionally, the Hemopurifier has been validated to capture Zika virus, Lassa virus, MERS-CoV, Cytomegalovirus, Epstein-Barr virus, Herpes Simplex virus, Chikungunya virus, Dengue virus, West Nile virus, Smallpox-related viruses, H1N1 Swine Flu virus, H5N1 Bird Flu virus, and the reconstructed Spanish flu virus of 1918. In several cases, these validations were conducted in collaboration with leading government or non-government research institutes. Domestically, we are focused on the clinical advancement of the Hemopurifier through investigational device exemptions (IDEs) approved by FDA. We recently concluded a feasibility study to demonstrate the safety of our device in health-compromised individuals infected with a viral pathogen. 

We are also the majority owner of Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI), a company focused on the discovery of exosomal biomarkers to diagnose and monitor life-threatening diseases. Included among ESI’s endeavors is the advancement of a TauSome^TM biomarker candidate to diagnose Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE) in the living. ESI previously documented that TauSome levels in former NFL players to be nine times higher than same age-group control subjects. 

Successful outcomes of human trials will also be required by the regulatory agencies of certain foreign countries where we intend to sell this device. Some of our patents may expire before FDA approval or approval in a foreign country, if any, is obtained. However, we believe that certain patent applications and/or other patents issued more recently will help protect the proprietary nature of the Hemopurifier treatment technology.

Our executive offices are located at 9635 Granite Ridge Drive, Suite 100, San Diego, California 92123. Our telephone number is (858) 459-7800. Our website address is www.aethlonmedical.com. 

Our common stock is quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the symbol “AEMD.” 

LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN 

Management expects existing cash as of March 31, 2018 to be sufficient to fund the Company’s operations for at least twelve months from the issuance date of these consolidated financial statements. 

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Aethlon Medical, Inc. and its majority-owned (80% ownership) and controlled subsidiary, Exosome Sciences, Inc. (ESI). All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. The Company has classified the (20% ownership) noncontrolling interests in ESI as part of consolidated net loss in the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 and includes the accumulated amount of noncontrolling interests as part of equity.

The losses at ESI during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 reduced the noncontrolling interests on our consolidated balance sheet by $20,279 from $(80,967) at March 31, 2017 to $(101,246) at March 31, 2018. 

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES 

We operate in an industry that is subject to intense competition, government regulation and rapid technological change. Our operations are subject to significant risk and uncertainties including financial, operational, technological, regulatory, and including the potential risk of business failure. 

USE OF ESTIMATES 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”), which 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 consolidated financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Significant estimates made by management include, among others, realization of long-lived assets, estimating fair value associated with debt and equity transactions and valuation of deferred tax assets. Actual results, whether in the near, medium or long-term future, could differ from those estimates. 

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS 

Accounting standards define “cash and cash equivalents” as any short-term, highly liquid investment that is both readily convertible to known amounts of cash and so near their maturity that they present insignificant risk of changes in value because of changes in interest rates. For the purpose of financial statement presentation, we consider all highly liquid investment instruments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased, or any investment redeemable without penalty or loss of interest to be cash equivalents. As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, we had no assets that were classified as cash equivalents. 

FAIR VALUE OF FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS 

The carrying amount of our cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and other current liabilities approximates their estimated fair values due to the short-term maturities of those financial instruments. The carrying amount of the notes payable approximates their fair value due to the short maturity of the notes and since the interest rates approximate current market interest rates for similar instruments. 

Management has concluded that it is not practical to determine the estimated fair value of amounts due to related parties because the transactions cannot be assumed to have been consummated at arm's length, the terms are not deemed to be market terms, there are no quoted values available for these instruments, and an independent valuation would not be practicable due to the lack of data regarding similar instruments, if any, and the associated potential costs. 

We follow Financial Accounting Standard Board’s (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) FASB ASC 820, “Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures” (“ASC 820”) in connection with financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis subsequent to initial recognition. 

ASC 820 requires that assets and liabilities carried at fair value will be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories: 

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

Level 2: Observable market based inputs or unobservable inputs that are corroborated by market data. 

Level 3: Unobservable inputs that are not corroborated by market data. 

The hierarchy noted above requires us to minimize the use of unobservable inputs and to use observable market data, if available, when determining fair value. 

We do not have any assets or liabilities that are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and, during the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, and did not have any assets or liabilities that were measured at fair value on a nonrecurring basis. 

CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISKS

Cash is maintained at one financial institution in checking accounts. Accounts at this institution are secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000. Our March 31, 2018 cash balances were approximately $6,722,000 over such insured amount. We do not believe that the Company is exposed to any significant risk with respect to its cash.

All of our accounts receivable at March 31, 2018 and 2017 and all of our revenue in the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 were directly from the National Cancer Institute or the U.S. Department of Defense or from a subcontract under Battelle, which is a prime contractor with the U.S. Department of Defense.

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT 

Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets, which range from two to five years. Repairs and maintenance are charged to expense as incurred while improvements are capitalized. Upon the sale or retirement of property and equipment, the accounts are relieved of the cost and the related accumulated depreciation with any gain or loss included in the consolidated statements of operations.

INCOME TAXES

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to the difference between the consolidated financial statements and their respective tax basis. Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of (a) temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts reported for income tax purposes, and (b) tax credit carryforwards. We record a valuation allowance for deferred tax assets when, based on our best estimate of taxable income (if any) in the foreseeable future, it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax assets may not be realized.

LONG-LIVED ASSETS

Long-lived assets are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that their carrying amounts may not be recoverable. If the cost basis of a long-lived asset is greater than the projected future undiscounted net cash flows from such asset, an impairment loss is recognized. We believe no impairment charges were necessary during the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. 

LOSS PER SHARE 

Basic loss per share is computed by dividing net income available to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period of computation. Diluted loss per share is computed similar to basic loss per share except that the denominator is increased to include the number of additional common shares that would have been outstanding if potential common shares had been issued, if such additional common shares were dilutive. Since we had net losses for all periods presented, basic and diluted loss per share are the same, and additional potential common shares have been excluded as their effect would be antidilutive.

As of March 31, 2018 and 2017, a total of 7,160,004 and 3,908,292 potential common shares, consisting of shares underlying outstanding stock options, restricted stock units, warrants and convertible notes payable were excluded as their inclusion would be antidilutive. 

SEGMENTS

Historically, we operated in one segment that was based on our development of therapeutic devices. However, in the December 2013 quarter, we initiated the operations of ESI to develop diagnostic tests. As a result, we now operate in two segments, Aethlon for therapeutic applications and ESI for diagnostic applications (See Note 10).

We record discrete financial information for ESI and our chief operating decision maker reviews ESI’s operating results in order to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the ESI segment and to assess its performance. 

DEFERRED FINANCING COSTS 

Costs related to the issuance of debt are capitalized as a deduction to our convertible notes based on the new accounting standard on imputation of interest, and amortized to interest expense over the life of the related debt using the effective interest method. We recorded amortization expense related to our deferred financing costs of $27,641 during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. There was no amortization related to our deferred financing costs in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018. 

REVENUE RECOGNITION

For our contracts with the National Institutes of Health (“NIH”) and with DARPA, we adopted the Milestone method of revenue recognition under ASC 605-28 “Revenue Recognition – Milestone Method” (“ASC 605-28”) and we believe we met the requirements under ASC 605-28 for reporting contract revenue under the Milestone Method for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. 

We identify the deliverables included within the contract and evaluate which deliverables represent separate units of accounting based on if certain criteria are met, including whether the delivered element has standalone value to the collaborator. The consideration received is allocated among the separate units of accounting, and the applicable revenue recognition criteria are applied to each of the separate units. 

A milestone is an event having all of the following characteristics: 

(1) There is substantive uncertainty at the date the arrangement is entered into that the event will be achieved. A vendor’s assessment that it expects to achieve a milestone does not necessarily mean that there is not substantive uncertainty associated with achieving the milestone. 

(2) The event can only be achieved based in whole or in part on either: (a) the vendor’s performance; or (b) a specific outcome resulting from the vendor’s performance. 

(3) If achieved, the event would result in additional payments being due to the vendor. 

A milestone does not include events for which the occurrence is either: (a) contingent solely upon the passage of time; or (b) the result of a counterparty’s performance.  

The policy for recognizing deliverable consideration contingent upon achievement of a milestone must be applied consistently to similar deliverables. 

The assessment of whether a milestone is substantive is performed at the inception of the arrangement. The consideration earned from the achievement of a milestone must meet all of the following for the milestone to be considered substantive: 

(1) The consideration is commensurate with either: (a) the vendor’s performance to achieve the milestone; or (b) the enhancement of the value of the delivered item or items as a result of a specific outcome resulting from the vendor’s performance to achieve the milestone; 

(2) The consideration relates solely to past performance; and

(3) The consideration is reasonable relative to all of the deliverables and payment terms (including other potential milestone consideration) within the arrangement.

A milestone is not considered substantive if any portion of the associated milestone consideration relates to the remaining deliverables in the unit of accounting (i.e., it does not relate solely to past performance). To recognize the milestone consideration in its entirety as revenue in the period in which the milestone is achieved, the milestone must be substantive in its entirety. Milestone consideration cannot be bifurcated into substantive and nonsubstantive components. In addition, if a portion of the consideration earned from achieving a milestone may be refunded or adjusted based on future performance, the related milestone is not considered substantive.

NIH Contract - We entered into a contract with the NIH on September 15, 2017. This award is under the NIH’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program which is designed to fund early stage small businesses that are seeking to commercialize innovative biomedical technologies. The title of the award is SBIR Topic 359 Phase 1 Device Strategy for Selective Isolation of Oncosomes and Non-Malignant Exosomes.

The award from NIH is a firm, fixed-price contract with potential total payments to us of $299,250 over the course of nine months. 

Fixed price contracts require the achievement of multiple, incremental milestones to receive the full award during each period of the contract. The NIH also has the unilateral right to require us to perform additional work under an option period for an additional fixed amount of $49,800.

Under the terms of the contract, we must perform certain incremental work towards the achievement of specific milestones against which we will invoice the government for fixed payment amounts.

In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we completed the first two milestones on this contract and invoiced NIH for two milestones in the amount of $149,625. In the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we performed work under the contract completing the majority of the first two technical objectives of the contract (Aim 1: To validate the Hemopurifier as a device for capture and recovery of melanoma exosomes from plasma and Aim 2: To validate a method of melanoma exosome isolation consisting of the Hemopurifier followed by mab-based immunocapture to select out the tumor-derived exosomes from non-malignant exosomes). As a result we invoiced NIH for $149,625. 

DARPA Contract -- We entered into a government contract with DARPA and recognized revenue of $387,438 under that contract during the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017. 

Battelle Subcontract -- We entered into a subcontract agreement with Battelle Memorial Institute (“Battelle”) in March 2013. Battelle was chosen by DARPA to be the prime contractor on the systems integration portion of the original DARPA contract and we are one of several subcontractors on that systems integration project. The Battelle subcontract is cost-reimbursable under a time and materials basis. We began generating revenues under the subcontract during the three months ended September 30, 2013 and for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, we recorded revenue of $4,635, under the Battelle subcontract.

Our revenue under this contract was a function of cost reimbursement plus an overhead mark-up for hours devoted to the project by specific employees (with specific hourly rates for those employees). Battelle engaged us as needed. Each payment required approval by the program manager at Battelle. 

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

Employee stock options and rights to purchase shares under stock participation plans are accounted for under the fair value method. Accordingly, share-based compensation is measured when all granting activities have been completed, generally the grant date, based on the fair value of the award. The exercise price of options is generally equal to the market price of the Company's common stock (defined as the closing price as quoted on the Nasdaq Capital Market or OTCBB on the date of grant). Compensation cost recognized by the Company includes (a) compensation cost for all equity incentive awards granted prior to April 1, 2006, but not yet vested, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the original provisions of the then current accounting standards, and (b) compensation cost for all equity incentive awards granted subsequent to March 31, 2006, based on the grant-date fair value estimated in accordance with the provisions of subsequent accounting standards. We use a Binomial Lattice option pricing model for estimating fair value of options granted (see Note 5). 

The following table summarizes share-based compensation expenses relating to shares and options granted and the effect on loss per common share during the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017: 

Our total stock-based compensation for fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 included the following:  

	Fiscal Years Ended
	March 31, 2018			March 31, 2017
Vesting of Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units	$	1,212,794		$	2,076,535
		47,975			109,773
Total Stock-Based Compensation Expense	$	1,260,769		$	2,186,309
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted		12,317,074			7,764,237
Basic and diluted loss per common share	$	(0.10	)	$	(0.28	)

We account for transactions involving services provided by third parties where we issue equity instruments as part of the total consideration using the fair value of the consideration received (i.e. the value of the goods or services) or the fair value of the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. In transactions, when the value of the goods and/or services are not readily determinable and (1) the fair value of the equity instruments is more reliably measurable and (2) the counterparty receives equity instruments in full or partial settlement of the transactions, we use the following methodology: 

a) For transactions where goods have already been delivered or services rendered, the equity instruments are issued on or about the date the performance is complete (and valued on the date of issuance). 

b) For transactions where the instruments are issued on a fully vested, non-forfeitable basis, the equity instruments are valued on or about the date of the contract. 

c) For any transactions not meeting the criteria in (a) or (b) above, we re-measure the consideration at each reporting date based on its then current stock value. 

We review share-based compensation on a quarterly basis for changes to the estimate of expected award forfeitures based on actual forfeiture experience. The effect of adjusting the forfeiture rate for all expense amortization after March 31, 2007 is recognized in the period the forfeiture estimate is changed. The effect of forfeiture adjustments for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018 was insignificant. 

PATENTS 

Patents include both foreign and domestic patents. We capitalize the cost of patents, some of which were acquired, and amortize such costs over the shorter of the remaining legal life or their estimated economic life, upon issuance of the patent. The unamortized costs of patents are subject to our review for impairment under our long-lived asset policy above.

STOCK PURCHASE WARRANTS

We grant warrants in connection with the issuance of convertible notes payable and the issuance of common stock for cash. When such warrants are classified as equity and issued in connection with debt, we measure the relative estimated fair value of such warrants and record it as a discount from the face amount of the convertible notes payable. Such discounts are amortized to interest expense over the term of the notes using the effective interest method. Warrants issued in connection with common stock for cash, if classified as equity, are considered issued in connection with equity transactions and the warrant fair value is recorded to additional paid-in-capital. 

BENEFICIAL CONVERSION FEATURE OF CONVERTIBLE NOTES PAYABLE 

The convertible feature of certain notes payable provides for a rate of conversion that is below market value. Such feature is normally characterized as a "Beneficial Conversion Feature" ("BCF"). We measure the estimated fair value of the BCF in circumstances in which the conversion feature is not required to be separated from the host instrument and accounted for separately, and record that value in the consolidated financial statements as a discount from the face amount of the notes. Such discounts are amortized to interest expense over the term of the notes.  

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES

Our research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We incurred approximately $586,000 and $673,000 of research and development expenses for the years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively, which are included in various operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

We have not entered into any off-balance sheet arrangements that have or are reasonably likely to have a current or future material effect on our consolidated financial statements. 

SIGNIFICANT RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS 

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, we adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2015-03, the new accounting standard on imputation of interest, simplifying the presentation of debt issuance costs. As a result of the adoption of that pronouncement, our deferred financing costs at March 31, 2016 were reclassified from current assets to an offset against our convertible notes. We did not have any unamortized deferred financing costs at March 31, 2017. 

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2017, we also adopted FASB ASU 2015-01, the new accounting standard on income statement - extraordinary and unusual items (Subtopic 225-20): simplifying income statement presentation by eliminating the concept of extraordinary items and FASB ASU 2014-15, the new accounting standard on the presentation of financial statements - going concern (Subtopic 205-40): disclosure of uncertainties about an entity's ability to continue as a going concern.

The adoption of FASB ASU 2015-01 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017 as we did not have any extraordinary or unusual items in those fiscal years and we believe this accounting pronouncement will not have a significant impact on the our consolidated financial statements in the future. The adoption of FASB ASU 2014-15 did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2018 and 2017. 

During the fiscal year ended March 31, 2018, we adopted FASB ASU 2016-09, Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, which amended Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation. This pronouncement simplified several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. ASU 2016-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within those fiscal years. We adopted this ASU effective April 1, 2017 and the adoption did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements. 

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU No. 201 4-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 requires an entity to recognize the revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. In addition, the standard provided guidance for recognizing gains and losses from the transfer of nonfinancial assets in contracts with noncustomers upon transfer of control. ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue requirements in Revenue Recognition (Topic 605) and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the Codification. ASU 2014-09 was to be effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those years, beginning after December 15, 2016, and is to be applied retrospectively, with early application not permitted. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-14, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date (“ASU 2015-14”), which deferred the effective date of ASU 2014-09 by one year. Early adoption is permitted after December 31, 2016. We elected to adopt the standard effective April 1, 2017, and the adoption did not have a material impact on our financial statements as existing government contracts are not in scope of Topic 606. 

ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) changes the existing accounting standards for lease accounting, including requiring lessees to recognize most leases on their balance sheets and making targeted changes to lessor accounting. ASU 2016-02 is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption of ASU 2016-02 as of its issuance is permitted. The new leases standard requires a modified retrospective transition approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after, the date of initial application, with an option to use certain transition relief. We do not expect the adoption of ASU No. 2016-02 to have a significant impact on our consolidated financial statements.