2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The accompanying consolidated financial statements reflect the application of certain accounting policies, as described in this note and elsewhere in the accompanying notes to the consolidated financial statements. The consolidated financial statements as of and for the twelve months ended December 31, 2020 are presented on a consolidated basis.

Principles of Consolidation — The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and the accounts of its wholly-owned subsidiary. All inter-company accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates — The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S. requires management to make estimates and judgments that may affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. On an on-going basis, management evaluates its estimates including those related to unbilled vendor amounts, share-based compensation and derivative liability valuation. Management bases its estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying values of assets and liabilities. Actual results may differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Changes in estimates are reflected in reported results in the period in which they become known.

Cash and Cash Equivalents — All short-term investments purchased with original maturities of three months or less are considered to be cash equivalents.

Fixed Assets — Property and equipment are stated at cost. Depreciation on property and equipment is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets (3 to 10 years). Due to the significant value of leasehold improvements purchased, leasehold improvements are depreciated over 64 months (their estimated useful life), which represents the full term of the lease. Our only long-lived assets are property and equipment. The Company periodically evaluates long-lived assets for potential impairment. Whenever events or circumstances change, an assessment is made as to whether there has been impairment to the value of long-lived assets by determining whether projected undiscounted cash flows generated by the applicable asset exceed its net book value as of the assessment date. There were no fixed asset impairment charges recorded during the years ended December 31, 2020 or 2019.

Right-of-Use  Asset and Lease Liabilities — In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standard Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (ASC 842), which supersedes the existing guidance for lease accounting, Leases (Topic 840). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize Right-Of-Use (“ROU”) Asset and Lease Liability for virtually all of their leases (other than leases that meet the definition of a short-term lease). On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 842 using the modified retrospective method for all material leases that existed at or commenced after January 1, 2019. ROU Assets are amortized over their estimated useful life, which represents the full term of the lease. See Leases below for additional details.

Stock-Based Compensation — The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to calculate the grant-date fair value of stock option awards. The resulting compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, for awards that are not performance-based is recognized on a straight-line basis over the service period of the award, which for 2019 ranged from seven months to three years and for grants issued in 2020 was over three years. For stock options with performance-based vesting provisions, recognition of compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, commences if and when the achievement of the performance criteria is deemed probable. The compensation expense, net of expected forfeitures, for performance-based stock options is recognized over the relevant performance period. Non-employee stock-based compensation is accounted for in accordance with the guidance of FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 505, Equity. The Company recognizes an expense based on the estimated fair value of options granted to non-employees over their vesting period, which is generally the period during which services are rendered and deemed completed.

Research and Development — Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. To the extent that such costs are reimbursed by the federal government on a fixed price, best efforts basis and the federal government is the sole customer for such research and development, the funding is recognized as a reduction of research and development expenses.

Income Taxes — Income taxes are accounted for using the liability method of accounting. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences between the financial statement basis and tax basis of assets and liabilities and net operating loss and credit carryforwards using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in income in the period that includes the enactment date. Valuation allowances are established when it is more likely than not that some portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Management has provided a full valuation allowance against the Company’s gross deferred tax asset. Tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing tax returns are required to be evaluated to determine whether the tax positions are “more likely than not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority. Tax positions deemed not to meet a more-likely-than-not threshold would be recorded as tax expense in the current year. There were no uncertain tax positions that require accrual to or disclosure in the financial statements as of December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments — The guidance under FASB ASC Topic 825, Financial Instruments, requires disclosure of the fair value of certain financial instruments. Financial instruments in the accompanying financial statements consist of cash equivalents, prepaid expenses and other assets, accounts payable and long-term obligations. The carrying amount of cash equivalents and accounts payable approximate their fair value due to their short-term nature. The carrying value of long-term obligations, including the current portion, approximates fair value because the fixed interest rate approximates current market rates of interest available in the market.

Derivative Instruments — The Company generally does not use derivative instruments to hedge exposures to cash flow or market risks; however, certain warrants to purchase common stock that do not meet the requirements for classification as equity, in accordance with the Derivatives and Hedging Topic of the FASB ASC, are classified as liabilities. In such instances, net-cash settlement is assumed for financial reporting purposes, even when the terms of the underlying contracts do not provide for a net-cash settlement. These warrants are considered derivative instruments because the agreements contain a certain type of cash settlement feature, contain “down-round” provisions whereby the number of shares for which the warrants are exercisable, and/or the exercise price of the warrants are subject to change in the event of certain issuances of stock at prices below the then-effective exercise price of the warrants. The number of shares issuable under such warrants was 49,425 at December 31, 2018. At December 31, 2018, these warrants represented the only outstanding derivative instruments issued or held by the Company and expired on August 20, 2019.

Concentration of Credit Risk — Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk consist of cash and equivalents on deposit with financial institutions. The Company’s excess cash as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 is on deposit in interest-bearing transaction accounts with well-established financial institutions. At times, such amounts may exceed the FDIC insurance limits. As of December 31, 2020, uninsured cash balances totaled approximately $56,700,000.

Leases — In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016‑02, Leases (ASC 842), which supersedes  the existing guidance for lease accounting, Leases (Topic 840). ASU 2016-02 requires lessees to recognize Right-Of-Use Asset and Lease Liability for virtually all of their leases (other than leases that meet the definition of a short-term lease). Lessor accounting remains largely unchanged except for changes in the definition and classification of leases. ASU 2016-02 allows a modified retrospective approach for all leases existing at, or entered into after the date of initial adoption, with an option to elect to use certain transition relief. The FASB also proposed a transition method to allow entities to not apply the new leases standard in the comparative periods they present in their financial statements in the year of adoption. Because of the immaterial financial impact, the Company will not apply ASC 842 to leases that individually have total lease payments of less than $100,000 over their life of service to the Company.

On January 1, 2019, the Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective method for all material leases that existed at or commenced after January 1, 2019. See Note 11 for additional details. The Company elected to apply the practical expedients in ASC 842-10-65-1 (f) and (gg) and therefore:

1.did not reassess expired contracts for presence of lease components therein and if it was already concluded that such contracts had lease components then the classification of the respective lease components therein was not re-assessed.

2.did not re-assess initial direct costs for any existing leases.

3.will not separate the lease and non-lease components.

4.will continue applying its current policy for accounting for land easements that existed as of, or expired before effective date.

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements - In July 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017‑11, Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity (Topic 480), Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815). The amendments in Part I of this update change the classification analysis of certain equity-linked financial instruments (or embedded features) with down round features. When determining whether certain financial instruments should be classified as liabilities or equity instruments, a down round feature no longer precludes equity classification when assessing whether the instrument is indexed to an entity’s own stock. The amendments also clarify existing disclosure requirements for equity-classified instruments. As a result, a freestanding equity-linked financial instrument (or embedded conversion option) no longer would be accounted for as a derivative liability at fair value as a result of the existence of a down round feature. The standard is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted upon issuance. The Company believes that its adoption of ASU 2017‑11 has not had a material impact on its results of operations, cash flows and financial position.

For the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2021, management early adopted ASU 2020-06 using the modified retrospective method. ASU 2020-06 simplifies entities' accounting for convertible instruments by eliminating the cash conversion and BCF models outlined in ASC 470-20. Under ASU 2020-06, convertible instruments that would have previously been subject to the BCF or cash conversion guidance no longer require separate accounting for the conversion feature. Entities may elect to early adopt ASU 2020-06 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Since the Company early adopted ASU 2020-06 beginning January 1, 2021, the Company would no longer be required to recognize a BCF even when shareholder approval is received. In December 2020, the Company completed a private placement where we issued Series D convertible preferred stock. The preferred shares are convertible into shares of common stock upon receipt of stockholder approval of the issuance of the underlying shares of common stock as required by Nasdaq Marketplace Rule 5635(d) at a special stockholder meeting. As such, management will continue to account for the Series D Preferred Stock in equity without any separate accounting for the conversion options.