General form of registration statement for all companies including face-amount certificate companies

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies

v3.22.4
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
9 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2022
Dec. 31, 2021
Accounting Policies [Abstract]    
Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
3. Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation of Interim Financial Statements
The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for interim financial statements and, in the opinion of management, include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of the interim periods shown. The December 31, 2021 balance sheet was derived from December 31, 2021 audited financial statements. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“US GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted pursuant to such SEC rules and regulations. Management believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information presented not misleading. The results for the interim periods are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2022. The condensed unaudited consolidated financial statements contained herein should be read in conjunction with the Company’s annual audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2021 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form
10-K
filed with the SEC.
The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with US GAAP, which prescribes elimination of all significant intercompany accounts and transactions in the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, IKT Securities Corporation, Inc., which was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in December 2021. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative US GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).
From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies and are generally adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations upon adoption.
The Company qualifies as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. The JOBS Act permits an emerging growth company such as the Company to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. The Company has elected not to “opt out” of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company will adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard and will do so until such time that it either (i) irrevocably elects to “opt out” of such extended transition period or (ii) no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company utilizes certain estimates in the determination of its assertions made in connection with its assessment of liquidity and working capital adequacy, of the fair value of its stock options and warrants, deferred tax valuation allowances and revenue recognition, to record expenses relating to research and development contracts and accrued expenses. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or other relevant assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from such estimates.
Concentrations of Credit Risk
For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2022 and 2021, the Company derived more than 90% of its total revenue from a single source, the United States Government, in the form of federal research grants.
Revenue Recognition
The Company generates revenue from research and development grants under contracts with third parties that do not create customer-vendor relationships. The Company’s research and development grants are
non-exchange
transactions and are not within the scope of ASC Topic 606,
Revenue from Contracts with Customers
(“ASC 606”). Contribution revenue earned from activities performed pursuant to research and development grants is reported as grant revenue in the Company’s unaudited condensed consolidated statements of operations. Revenue from these grants is recognized as the Company incurs qualifying expenses as stipulated by the terms of the respective grant. Cash received from grants in advance of incurring qualifying expenses is recorded as deferred revenue. The Company records revenue and a corresponding receivable when qualifying costs are incurred before the grants are received.
Leases
The Company accounts for its leases under ASU
2021-09,
ASU
2018-10,
and ASC Topic 842,
Leases
(“ASC 842”). ASC 842 requires a lessee to record a
right-of-use
asset and a corresponding lease liability for most lease arrangements on the Company’s balance sheet. Under the standard, disclosure of key information about leasing arrangements to assist users of the financial statements with assessing the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases is required.
 
Leases are classified as either finance leases or operating leases. A lease is classified as a finance lease if any one of the following criteria are met: the lease transfers ownership of the asset by the end of the lease term, the lease contains an option to purchase the asset that is reasonably certain to be exercised, the lease term is for a major part of the remaining useful life of the asset or the present value of the lease payments equals or exceeds substantially all of the fair value of the asset. A lease is classified as an operating lease if it does not meet any of these criteria.
For all leases at the lease commencement date, a
right-of-use
asset and a lease liability are recognized. The
right-of-use
asset represents the right to use the leased asset for the lease term. The lease liability represents the present value of the lease payments under the lease.
The
right-of-use
asset is initially measured at cost, which primarily comprises the initial amount of the lease liability, plus any initial direct costs incurred if any, less any lease incentives received. All
right-of-use
assets are reviewed for impairment. The lease liability is initially measured at the present value of the lease payments, discounted using the interest rate implicit in the lease or, if that rate cannot be readily determined, the secured incremental borrowing rate for the same term as the underlying lease.
Lease payments included in the measurement of the lease liability comprise the following: the fixed noncancelable lease payments, payments for optional renewal periods where it is reasonably certain the renewal period will be exercised, and payments for early termination options unless it is reasonably certain the lease will not be terminated early.
Lease cost for operating leases consists of the lease payments plus any initial direct costs, primarily brokerage commissions, and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Included in lease cost are any variable lease payments incurred in the period that are not included in the initial lease liability and lease payments incurred in the period for any leases with an initial term of 12 months or less. Lease cost for finance leases consists of the amortization of the
right-of-use
asset on a straight-line basis over the lease term and interest expense determined on an amortized cost basis. The lease payments are allocated between a reduction of the lease liability and interest expense.
The Company has made an accounting policy election to not recognize leases with an initial term of 12 months or less within our condensed consolidated balance sheets and to recognize those lease payments on a straight-line basis in our condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss over the lease term.
Equipment and Improvements
Equipment and improvements
ar
e stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. For financial reporting purposes, dep
r
eciation is recognized using the straight-line method, allocating the cost of the assets over their estimated usefulness from three to five years for network equipment, office equipment, and furniture classified as fixed assets.
 
    
Estimated Useful Economic Life
Leasehold property improvements, right of use assets    Lesser of lease term or useful life
Furniture and office equipment    5 years
Lab equipment    3 Years
IT equipment    3 years
 
Fair Value Measurement
The Company has certain financial assets and liabilities recorded at fair value which have been classified as Level 1, 2 or 3 within the fair value hierarchy as described in the accounting standards for fair value measurements.
 
   
Level 1 — Fair values are determined utilizing quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company has the ability to access;
 
   
Level 2 — Fair values are determined by utilizing quoted prices for identical or similar assets and liabilities in active markets or other market observable inputs such as interest rates, yield curves and foreign currency spot rates; and
 
   
Level 3 — inputs are unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability. Financial assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
The Company’s financial assets, which include cash equivalents and marketable securities, have been initially valued at the transaction price, and subsequently revalued at the end of each reporting period, utilizing third-party pricing services. The pricing services utilize industry standard valuation models, including both income and market based approaches, to determine value and improvements are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation.
Marketable Securities
The Company’s marketable securities consist of U.S. Treasury securities with maturities of less than one year which are classified as
available-for-sale
and included in current assets on the balance sheet.
Available-for-sale
debt securities are carried at fair value with unrealized gains and losses reported as a component of stockholders’ equity in accumulated other comprehensive income. Realized gains and losses, if any, are included in other income, net in the condensed consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.
Available-for-sale
securities are reviewed for possible impairment at least quarterly, or more frequently if circumstances arise that may indicate impairment. When the fair value of the securities declines below the amortized cost basis, impairment is indicated and it must be determined whether it is other than temporary. Impairment is considered to be other than temporary if the Company: (i) intends to sell the security, (ii) will more likely than not be forced to sell the security before recovering its cost, or (iii) does not expect to recover the security’s amortized cost basis. If the decline in fair value is considered other than temporary, the cost basis of the security is adjusted to its fair market value and the realized loss is reported.
2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
Basis of Presentation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements for the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, have been prepared in accordance with the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) for financial
information, which prescribes elimination of all significant inter-company accounts and transactions in the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, IKT Securities Corporation, which was incorporated in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in December 2021. In the opinion of management, these consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments
wh
ich are necessary for a fair statement of the Company’s financial position and results of its operations, as of and for the periods presented. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative U.S. GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”).
On August 21, 2020, the Company filed a Certificate of Amendment of its Certificate of Incorporation with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware that effected a
one-for-1.14396
(1:1.14396) reverse stock split of its common stock, par value $
.001
per share, effective August 24, 2020. All warrant, option, share, and per share information in the Company’s financial statements gives retroactive effect to the
one-for-1.14396
reverse stock split that was effected on August 24, 2020.
Consolidation
The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary, IKT Securities Corporation. The Company has eliminated all inter-company transactions for the years presented.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. The Company utilizes certain estimates in the determination of the fair value of its stock options and warrants, deferred tax valuation allowances and revenue recognition, to record expenses relating to research and development contracts and accrued expenses. The Company bases its estimates on historical experience and other market-specific or other relevant assumptions that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ from such estimates.
Off-Balance
Sheet Risk and Concentrations of Credit Risk
The Company has no significant
off-balance
sheet risks, such as foreign exchange contracts, option contracts, or other foreign hedging arrangements. Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company is exposed to credit risk in the event of a default by the financial institutions holding its cash to the extent recorded on the consolidated balance sheets.
The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and management believes that the Company does not have significant credit risk with respect to such cash.
For the years ended December 31, 2021 and 2020, the Company derived more than
90
% of its total revenue from a single source, the United States Government, in the form of federal research grants.
Fair Value Measurements
For certain financial instruments, including cash and accounts payable, the carrying amounts approximate their fair values as of December 31, 2021 and 2020 because of their short-term nature.
 
Revenue Recognition
The Company generates revenue from research and development grants under contracts with third parties that do not create customer-vendor relationships. The Company’s research and development grants are
non-exchange
transactions and are not within the scope of ASC Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”). Contribution revenue earned from activities performed pursuant to research and development grants is reported as grant revenue in the Company’s consolidated statements of operations. Revenue from these grants is recognized as the Company incurs qualifying expenses as stipulated by the terms of the respective grant. Cash received from grants in advance of incurring qualifying expenses is recorded as deferred revenue. The Company records revenue and a corresponding receivable when qualifying costs are incurred before the grants are received.
Research and Development Costs
Costs incurred in the research and development of the Company’s product candidates are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including activities associated with performing services under grant revenue contracts and include salaries and benefits, stock compensation, research-related subcontractors and consultants, supplies and overhead costs. Advance payments made to suppliers and contract research organizations are classified as prepaid research and development and are expensed as research and development as the supplies are consumed and the contract services are provided.
Stock-Based Compensation
The Company has a stock-based compensation plan which is more fully described in Note 6. The Company records stock-based compensation for options granted to employees and to members of the board of directors for their services on the board of directors, based on the grant date fair value of awards issued, and the expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the applicable service period, which is generally one to two years. The Company accounts for
non-employee
stock-based compensation arrangements based upon the fair value of the consideration received or the equity instruments issued, whichever is more reliably measurable. Stock-based compensation costs for
non-employee
awards are recognized as services are provided, which is generally the vesting period.
The Company uses the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model to determine the fair value of stock options. The use of the Black-Scholes-Merton option-pricing model requires management to make assumptions with respect to the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of the common stock consistent with the expected life of the option, risk-free interest rates and expected dividend yields of the common stock. The Company has concluded that the historical share option exercise experience does not provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate expected term. Therefore, the expected term was determined according to the simplified method, which is the average of the vesting tranche dates and the contractual term. Due to the lack of Company specific historical and implied volatility data, we have based our estimate of expected volatility primarily on the historical volatility of a group of similar companies that are publicly traded. For these analyses, companies with comparable characteristics are selected, including enterprise value and position within the industry, and with historical share price information sufficient to meet the expected life of the stock-based awards. The Company computes the historical volatility data using the daily closing prices for the selected companies’ shares during the equivalent period of the calculated expected term of its stock-based awards. The risk-free interest rate is determined by reference to U.S. Treasury
zero-coupon
issues with remaining maturities similar to the expected term of the options. The Company has not paid, and does not anticipate paying, cash dividends on shares of common stock.
 
Income Taxes
The Company provides for income taxes using the asset and liability method. The Company provides deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of temporary differences between the Company’s financial statement carrying amounts and the tax bases of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax assets to the amount that will more likely than not be realized.
The Company does not have any material uncertain tax positions for which reserves would be required. The Company will recognize interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions, if any, in income tax expense.
Net Loss Per Share
Basic net loss per share is calculated by dividing net loss applicable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding during the period, without consideration for common stock equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is calculated by adjusting the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents outstanding for the period, determined using the treasury-stock method. For purposes of the diluted net loss per share calculation, warrants to purchase common stock and stock options are considered to be common stock equivalents, but have been excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per share, as their effect would be anti-dilutive for all periods presented. Therefore, basic and diluted net loss per share applicable to common stockholders were the same for all periods presented.
Recent Accounting Standards
From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the FASB or other standard setting bodies and are generally adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the Company believes that the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on its financial position or results of operations upon adoption.
The Company qualifies as an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended, or the JOBS Act. The JOBS Act permits an emerging growth company such as the Company to take advantage of an extended transition period to comply with new or revised accounting standards applicable to public companies until those standards would otherwise apply to private companies. The Company has elected not to “opt out” of such extended transition period, which means that when a standard is issued or revised and it has different application dates for public or private companies, the Company will adopt the new or revised standard at the time private companies adopt the new or revised standard and will do so until such time that it either (i) irrevocably elects to “opt out” of such extended transition period or (ii) no longer qualifies as an emerging growth company.
Accounting Standards Adopted
On January 1, 2020, the Company adopted ASU
No. 2018-07,
Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to
Non-employee
Share-Based Payment Accounting (“ASU
2018-07”),
which expands the scope of Topic 718 to include share-based payment transactions for acquiring goods and services from
non-employees.
An entity should apply the requirements of Topic 718 to
non-employee
awards except for specific guidance on inputs to an option pricing model and the attribution of cost (that is, the period of time over which share-based payment awards vest and the pattern of cost recognition over that period). The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU
No. 2016-02,
Leases (“ASU
2016-02”),
which applies to all leases. Under ASU
2016-02,
a
right-of-use
asset and lease obligation will be recorded for all leases, whether operating or financing leases, while the statement of operations will reflect lease expense for operating leases and amortization and interest expense for financing leases. ASU
2016-02
is effective for public entities for fiscal
years beginning after December 15, 2018 and interim periods within those years, and after December 15, 2021 and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2021 for all other entities. Early adoption is permitted. Entities are required to use a modified retrospective approach of adoption for leases that exist or are entered into after the beginning of the earliest comparative period in the financial statements. Full retrospective application is prohibited. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU
2019-12
amending accounting guidance that simplifies the accounting for income taxes, as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in the accounting standards. It removes certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740 and amends existing guidance to improve consistent application. ASU
2019-12
will be effective for us in the first quarter of 2021 with early adoption permitted. The adoption of this ASU did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
Accounting Standards Issued, Not Yet Adopted
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)
(“ASU 2020-06”).
ASU
2020-06
simplifies the accounting for convertible debt instruments by reducing the number of accounting models and the number of embedded features that could be recognized separately from the host contract. Consequently, more convertible debt instruments will be accounted for as a single liability measured at its amortized cost, as long as no other features require bifurcation and recognition as derivatives. ASU
2020-06
also requires use of the
if-converted
method in the diluted earnings per share calculation for convertible instruments. ASU
2020-06
is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and interim periods within those fiscal years for smaller reporting companies, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact that this standard may have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.