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ORGANIZATION, LIQUIDITY AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)
12 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2023
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
ORGANIZATION

ORGANIZATION

 

Aethlon Medical, Inc., or Aethlon, the Company, we or us, is a medical therapeutic company focused on developing products to treat cancer and life-threatening infectious diseases. The Aethlon Hemopurifier is a clinical-stage immunotherapeutic device designed to combat cancer and life-threatening viral infections. In cancer, the Hemopurifier is designed to deplete the presence of circulating tumor-derived exosomes that promote immune suppression, seed the spread of metastasis and inhibit the benefit of leading cancer therapies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, or FDA, has designated the Hemopurifier as a “Breakthrough Device” for two independent indications:

 

·       the treatment of individuals with advanced or metastatic cancer who are either unresponsive to or intolerant of standard of care therapy, and with cancer types in which exosomes have been shown to participate in the development or severity of the disease; and

 

·       the treatment of life-threatening viruses that are not addressed with approved therapies.

 

We believe the Hemopurifier can be a substantial advance in the treatment of patients with advanced and metastatic cancer through the clearance of exosomes that promote the growth and spread of tumors through multiple mechanisms. We are currently working with our new contract research organization, or CRO, on preparations to conduct a clinical trial in Australia in patients with solid tumors, including head and neck cancer, gastrointestinal cancers and other cancers.

 

On October 4, 2019, the FDA approved our Investigational Device Exemption, or IDE, application to initiate an Early Feasibility Study, or EFS, of the Hemopurifier in patients with head and neck cancer in combination with standard of care pembrolizumab (Keytruda). The primary endpoint for the EFS, designed to enroll 10 to 12 subjects at a single center, is safety, with secondary endpoints including measures of exosome clearance and characterization, as well as response and survival rates. This clinical trial, initially conducted at the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center in Pittsburgh, PA, or UPMC, treated two patients. Due to lack of further patient enrollment, we and UPMC terminated this trial.

 

In January 2023, we entered into an agreement with North American Science Associates, LLC, or NAMSA, a world leading MedTech CRO offering global end-to-end development services, to oversee our clinical trials investigating the Hemopurifier for oncology indications. Pursuant to the agreement, NAMSA will manage our clinical trials of the Hemopurifier for patients in the United States and Australia with various types of cancer tumors. We anticipate that the initial clinical trials will begin in Australia.

 

We also believe the Hemopurifier can be part of the broad-spectrum treatment of life-threatening highly glycosylated, or carbohydrate coated, viruses that are not addressed with an already approved treatment. In small-scale or early feasibility human studies, the Hemopurifier has been used in the past to treat individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, hepatitis-C and Ebola.

 

Additionally, in vitro, the Hemopurifier has been demonstrated 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, Monkeypox virus and the reconstructed Spanish flu virus of 1918. In several cases, these studies were conducted in collaboration with leading government or non-government research institutes.

 

On June 17, 2020, the FDA approved a supplement to our open IDE for the Hemopurifier in viral disease to allow for the testing of the Hemopurifier in patients with SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19, or COVID-19, in a New Feasibility Study. That study was designed to enroll up to 40 subjects at up to 20 centers in the United States. Subjects had to have an established laboratory diagnosis of COVID-19, be admitted to an intensive care unit, or ICU, and have acute lung injury and/or severe or life-threatening disease, among other criteria. Endpoints for this study, in addition to safety, included reduction in circulating virus as well as clinical outcomes (NCT # 04595903). In June 2022, the first patient in this study was enrolled and completed the Hemopurifier treatment phase of the protocol. Due to lack of COVID-19 patients in the ICUs of our trial sites, we terminated this study in 2022.

 

Under Single Patient Emergency Use regulations, the Company has treated two patients with COVID-19 with the Hemopurifier, in addition to the COVID-19 patient treated with our Hemopurifier in our COVID-19 clinical trial discussed above.

 

We currently are experiencing a disruption in our Hemopurifier supply, as our existing supply of Hemopurifiers expired on September 30, 2022 and, as previously disclosed, we are dependent on FDA approval of qualified suppliers to manufacture our Hemopurifier. Our intended transition to a new supplier for galanthus nivalis agglutinin, or GNA, a component of our Hemopurifier, is delayed as we work with the FDA for approval of our supplement to our IDE, which is required to make this manufacturing change.

 

In October 2022, we launched a wholly owned subsidiary in Australia, formed to conduct clinical research, seek regulatory approval and commercialize our Hemopurifier in that country. The subsidiary will initially focus on oncology trials in Australia. There were only insignificant expenses in that subsidiary in the three months ended December 31, 2022.

 

We also obtained Ethics Review Board, or ERB, approval and entered into a clinical trial agreement with Medanta Medicity Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital in Delhi NCR, India, for a COVID-19 clinical trial at that location. One patient has completed participation in the Indian COVID-19 study. The relevant authorities in India have accepted the use of the Hemopurifiers made with the GNA from our new supplier.

 

In May 2023, we also received ERB approval from the Maulana Azad Medical College, or MAMC, for a second site for our clinical trial in India to treat severe COVID-19. MAMC was established in 1958 and is located in New Delhi, India. MMAC is affiliated with the University of Delhi and is operated by the Delhi government.

 

We also recently announced that we also have begun investigating the use of our Hemopurifier in the organ transplant setting. Our objective is to confirm that the Hemopurifier, in our translational studies, when incorporated into a machine perfusion organ preservation circuit, can remove harmful viruses and exosomes from harvested organs. We have previously demonstrated the removal of multiple viruses and exosomes from buffer solutions, in vitro, utilizing a scaled-down version of our Hemopurifier. This process potentially may reduce complications following transplantation of the harvested organ, which can include viral infection, delayed graft function and rejection. We believe this new approach could be additive to existing technologies that currently are in place to increase the number of viable organs for transplant.

 

Previously, we were the majority owner of Exosome Sciences, Inc., or ESI, a company formed to focus on the discovery of exosomal biomarkers to diagnose and monitor life-threatening diseases, and thus consolidated ESI in our consolidated financial statements. For more than four years, the primary activities of ESI were limited to the payment of patent maintenance fees and applications. In September 2022, the Board of Directors of ESI and we, as the majority stockholder of ESI, approved the dissolution of ESI.

 

Successful outcomes of human trials will also be required by the regulatory agencies of certain foreign countries where we plan to market and sell the Hemopurifier. 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.

 

In addition to the foregoing, we are monitoring closely the impact of inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine on our business. Given the level of uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of these events on capital markets and the U.S. economy, we are unable to assess the impact on our timelines and future access to capital. The full extent to which inflation, recent bank failures and the war in Ukraine will impact our business, results of operations, financial condition, clinical trials and preclinical research will depend on future developments, as well as the economic impact on national and international markets that are highly uncertain.

 

Our executive offices are located at 11555 Sorrento Valley Road, Suite 203, San Diego, California 92121. Our telephone number is (619) 941-0360. Our website address is www.aethlonmedical.com.

 

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

 

LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN

LIQUIDITY AND GOING CONCERN

 

Management expects existing cash as of March 31, 2023 and funds raised subsequent to that date 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

PRINCIPLES OF CONSOLIDATION

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Aethlon Medical, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Aethlon Medical Australia Pty Ltd, as well as its previously majority-owned subsidiary, ESI, which dissolved in September 2022. All significant inter-company transactions and balances have been eliminated in consolidation. The consolidated financial statements contain all normal recurring accruals and adjustments that, in the opinion of management, are necessary to present fairly the consolidated financial statements as of and for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, and the consolidated statement of cash flows for the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022. Estimates were made relating to useful lives of fixed assets, impairment of assets, share-based compensation expense and accruals for clinical trial and research and development expenses.

  

RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

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

USE OF ESTIMATES

 

We prepare our consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, or GAAP, which requires us to make a number of 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. Such estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. On an ongoing basis, we evaluate estimates and assumptions based upon historical experience and various other factors and circumstances. We believe our estimates and assumptions are reasonable in the circumstances; however, actual results may differ from these estimates under different future conditions. We believe that the estimates and assumptions that are most important to the portrayal of our financial condition and results of operations, in that they require the most difficult, subjective or complex judgments, form the basis for the accounting policies deemed to be most critical to us. These critical accounting estimates relate to revenue recognition, stock purchase warrants issued with notes payable, beneficial conversion feature of convertible notes payable, impairment of intangible assets and long lived assets, stock compensation, deferred tax asset valuation allowance, and contingencies.

  

CASH AND CASH EQUIVALENTS

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. Cash is carried at cost, which approximates fair value, and cash equivalents are carried at fair value.

 

As of March 31, 2023, our cash and cash equivalents were comprised of the following instruments: 

     
Cash in US bank checking account  $575,766 
Cash equivalents held in US Treasury bills   13,910,973 
Cash in Australian bank checking account   46,204 
Total cash and cash equivalents  $14,532,943 

 

As of March 31, 2022, we had no assets that were classified as cash equivalents.

  

CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISKS

CONCENTRATIONS OF CREDIT RISKS

 

Cash is maintained at one US financial institution in a checking account. Accounts at this institution are secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000. Our March 31, 2023 cash balances were approximately $574,572 over such insured amount. We do not believe that the Company is exposed to any significant risk with respect to its cash in that checking account.

 

At March 31, 2023, we maintained cash equivalents of approximately $13.9 million in US Treasury bills with maturities of less than three months. We do not believe that the Company is exposed to any significant risk with respect to its cash equivalents since they represent US government risk.

 

Cash is maintained at one Australian financial institution in checking accounts. Accounts at this institution are secured by the Financial Claims Scheme for up to Australian $250,000. Our March 31, 2023 Australian cash balance was below that threshold.

 

All of our revenue in the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 related to our government contracts. We did not have any accounts receivable at March 31, 2023.

 

RESTRICTED CASH

RESTRICTED CASH

 

To comply with the terms of our laboratory, office, and manufacturing space leases, we caused our bank to issue two standby letters of credit, or the L/Cs, in the amount of $87,506 in favor of the landlord. The L/Cs are in lieu of a security deposit. In order to support the L/Cs, we agreed to have our bank withdraw $87,506 from our operating accounts and to place that amount in restricted certificates of deposit. We have classified that amount as restricted cash, a long-term asset, on our balance sheet.

 

PROPERTY AND EQUIPMENT

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

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

 

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, 2023 and 2022.

  

LOSS PER SHARE

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, 2023 and 2022, a total of 2,045,006 and 2,243,838 potential common shares, consisting of shares underlying outstanding stock options, restricted stock units, or RSUs, and warrants were excluded as their inclusion would be antidilutive.

 

DEFERRED FINANCING COSTS

DEFERRED FINANCING COSTS

 

Costs related to the issuance of debt are capitalized as a deduction to our convertible notes based on the accounting standard on imputation of interest, and amortized to interest expense over the life of the related debt using the effective interest method. There was no amortization related to our deferred financing costs in the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022.

 

REVENUE RECOGNITION

REVENUE RECOGNITION

 

Our revenues consist entirely of amounts earned under contracts and grants with the National Institutes of Health, or NIH. During the fiscal years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, we recognized revenues totaling $574,245 and $294,165, respectively, under such contracts. We have concluded that these agreements are not within the scope of ASC Topic, 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, or Topic 606, as the NIH grants and contracts do not meet the definition of a “customer” as defined by Topic 606. Prior to the effective date of ASC Topic 606, which for the Company was April 1, 2018, we accounted for our grant/contract revenues under the Milestone Method as prescribed by the legacy guidance of ASC 605-28, Revenue Recognition – Milestone Method, or Milestone Method. In the absence of other applicable guidance under US GAAP, effective April 1, 2018, we elected to continue to use the Milestone Method by analogy to recognize revenue under these grants/contracts.

 

We identify the deliverables included within these agreements 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.

 

We have recognized revenue under the following contracts/grants:

 

Phase 2 Melanoma Cancer Contract

 

On September 12, 2019, the National Cancer Institute, or NCI, part of the NIH, awarded to us an SBIR Phase II Award Contract, for NIH/NCI Topic 359, entitled “A Device Prototype for Isolation of Melanoma Exosomes for Diagnostics and Treatment Monitoring”, or the Award Contract. The Award Contract amount was $1,860,561 and, as amended, ran for the period from September 16, 2019 through September 15, 2022.

 

The work performed pursuant to this Award Contract was focused on melanoma exosomes. This work followed from our completion of a Phase I contract for the Topic 359 solicitation that ran from September 2017 through June 2018, as described below. Following on the Phase I work, the deliverables in the Phase II program involved the design and testing of a pre-commercial prototype of a more advanced version of the exosome isolation platform.

 

The Award Contract ended on September 15, 2022 and we presented the required final report to the NCI. As the NCI completed its close out review of the contract, we recognized as revenue the $574,245 previously recorded as deferred revenue on our December 31, 2022 balance sheet.

 

Subaward with University of Pittsburgh

 

In December 2020, we entered into a cost reimbursable subaward arrangement with the University of Pittsburgh in connection with an NIH contract entitled “Depleting Exosomes to Improve Responses to Immune Therapy in HNNCC.” Our share of the award was $256,750. We did not record revenue related to this subaward in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2023. We recorded $64,467 of revenue related to this subaward in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2022.

 

In October 2022, we agreed with the University of Pittsburgh to terminate the subaward arrangement, effective as of November 10, 2022, since it related to our clinical trial in head and neck cancer in which the University of Pittsburgh was unable to recruit patients. There are no provisions in the subaward arrangement requiring repayment of cash received for work completed through November 10, 2022.

 

STOCK-BASED COMPENSATION

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 4).

 

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, 2023 and 2022:

        
   Fiscal Years Ended 
   March 31, 2023   March 31, 2022 
Vesting of Stock Options and Restricted Stock Units  $1,051,898   $750,621 
Total Stock-Based Compensation Expense  $1,051,898   $750,621 
           
Weighted average number of common shares outstanding – basic and diluted   20,537,434    14,756,967 
           
Basic and diluted loss per common share  $(0.59)  $(0.71)

 

We record share-based compensation expenses for awards of stock options and RSUs under ASC 718, Share-based compensation, or ASC 718. For awards to non-employees for periods prior to the adoption of ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation: Improvements to Non-employee Share-Based Payment Accounting, on April 1, 2019, the Company had applied ASC 505-50, Equity – Equity-based payments to non-employees, or ASC 505-50. ASC 718 establishes guidance for the recognition of expenses arising from the issuance of share-based compensation awards at their fair value at the grant date.

 

We recognize share-based compensation expense related to stock options and stock appreciation rights granted to employees, directors and consultants based on the estimated fair value of the awards on the date of grant. We estimate the grant date fair value, and the resulting share-based compensation expense, for stock options that only have service vesting requirements or performance-based vesting requirements without market conditions using the binomial lattice option-pricing model. The grant date fair value of the share-based awards with service vesting requirements is generally recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period of the respective awards. Determining the appropriate amount to expense for performance-based awards based on the achievement of stated goals requires judgment. The estimate of expense is revised periodically based on the probability of achieving the required performance targets and adjustments are made as appropriate. The cumulative impact of any revisions is reflected in the period of change. If any applicable financial performance goals are not met, no compensation cost is recognized and any previously recognized compensation cost is reversed. For performance-based awards with market conditions, we determine the fair value of awards as of the grant date using a Monte Carlo simulation model.

 

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, 2023 was insignificant.

 

PATENTS

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

STOCK PURCHASE WARRANTS

 

In the past we issued warrants for the purchase of shares of our common stock in connection with the issuance of common stock for cash. 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.

 

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT EXPENSES

 

Our research and development costs are expensed as incurred. We incurred approximately $2,745,000 and $2,341,000 of research and development expenses for the years ended March 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively, which are included in various operating expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations.

 

OFF-BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS

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

SIGNIFICANT RECENT ACCOUNTING PRONOUNCEMENTS

 

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718), Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting, or ASU No. 2018-07. ASU No. 2018-07 expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from nonemployees. ASU No. 2018-07 is effective for interim and annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018. Entities must apply the guidance retrospectively with a cumulative effect adjustment to retained earnings as of the beginning of the period of adoption. The adoption of ASU No. 2018-07 on April 1, 2019 did not have a material impact on the Company's consolidated financial position, results of operations and related disclosures.

 

On April 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC Topic 842, “Leases,” utilizing the alternative transition method allowed for under this guidance. As a result, the Company recorded lease liabilities and right-of-use lease assets on its balance sheet.

    

Topic 842 also allows lessees and lessors to elect certain practical expedients. The Company elected the following practical expedients:

 

  · Transitional practical expedients, which must be elected as a package and applied consistently to all of the Company’s leases:

 

  ° The Company need not reassess whether any expired or existing contracts are or contain leases.
     
  ° The Company need not reassess the lease classification for any expired or existing leases (that is, all existing leases that were classified as operating leases in accordance with the previous guidance will be classified as operating leases, and all existing leases that were classified as capital leases in accordance with the previous guidance will be classified as finance leases).
     
  ° The Company need not reassess initial direct costs for any existing leases.

 

  · Hindsight practical expedient. The Company elected the hindsight practical expedient in determining the lease term (that is, when considering lessee options to extend or terminate the lease and to purchase the underlying asset) and in assessing impairment of the Company’s right-of-use assets.