Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

NATURE OF BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION AND GOING CONCERN

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NATURE OF BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION AND GOING CONCERN
9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Nature Of Business Organization and Going Concern Disclosure [Text Block]
1. NATURE OF BUSINESS, ORGANIZATION AND GOING CONCERN
 
Cellectar Biosciences, Inc. (the “Company”) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of drugs for the treatment of cancer. The Company’s core objective is to leverage its proprietary phospholipid drug conjugate
TM
(PDCs
TM
) delivery platform to develop PDCs that specifically target cancer cells to deliver improved efficacy and better safety as a result of fewer off-target effects.
 
The Company is subject to a number of risks similar to those of other small pharmaceutical companies. Principal among these risks are the need to obtain additional financing necessary to fund future operations, dependence on key individuals and suppliers, competition from substitute products and larger companies and the successful development and marketing of its products in a highly regulated environment.
 
The Company believes that it has sufficient liquidity to fund operations through 12 months from the filing of these financial statements, therefore, the 
accompanying financial statements have been prepared on a basis that assumes the Company will continue as a going concern and that contemplates the continuity of operations, realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. However, its future results of operations and ability to obtain additional capital involve significant risks and uncertainties. 
The Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts toward research and development and has, during the nine months ended September 30, 2018, generated an operating loss of approximately $9,446,000. The Company expects that it will continue to generate operating losses for the foreseeable future.
 
The accompanying condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 has been derived from audited financial statements. The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated balance sheet as of September 30, 2018, the condensed consolidated statements of operations for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, the condensed consolidated statements of stockholders’ equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 and the condensed consolidated statements of cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017 and the related interim information contained within the notes to the condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions, rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for interim financial information. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and the notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements, although the company believes that the disclosures made are adequate to make the information not misleading. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed consolidated financial statements reflect all adjustments which are of a nature necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated financial position at September 30, 2018 and consolidated results of its operations for the three months and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017,
the consolidated changes in its stockholders’ equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017
and its cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. The results for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of future results.
 
These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and related notes thereto included in the Company’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, which was filed with the SEC on March 21, 2018.
 
Principles of Consolidation
— The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and the accounts of its wholly-owned subsidiary. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.
 
Reclassifications
— Certain amounts in prior periods have been reclassified to conform to the current year presentation. Such classifications did not have a material effect on the Company’s financial condition or results of operations as previously reported.
 
Restricted Cash
— The Company accounts for cash that is restricted for other than current operations as restricted cash. Restricted cash at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017 consisted of a certificate of deposit of $55,000 required under the Company’s lease agreement for its Madison, Wisconsin facility.
 
Goodwill
— Goodwill is not amortized but is required to be evaluated for impairment annually or whenever events or changes in circumstances suggest that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. The Company evaluates goodwill for impairment annually in the fourth fiscal quarter and additionally on an interim basis if an event occurs or there is a change in circumstances, such as a decline in the Company’s stock price or a material adverse change in the business climate, which would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying amount. No such event or change in circumstances occurred; therefore, no changes in goodwill were made during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017.
 
In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Simplifying the Test for Goodwill. The standard streamlines the methodology for calculating whether goodwill is impaired based upon whether the carrying amount of goodwill exceeds the reporting unit’s fair value. ASU 2017-04 applies to public business entities and those other entities that have goodwill reported in their financial statements and have not elected the private company alternative for the subsequent measurement of goodwill and is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2019, with early adoption permitted. The Company does not expect that the adoption of this standard will have a material effect on its financial statements.
 
Impairment of Long
-
Lived Assets
— Long-lived assets other than goodwill consist primarily of fixed assets, which we periodically evaluate for potential impairment. Whenever events or circumstances change, an assessment is made as to whether there has been an impairment in 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. No such event or change in circumstances occurred; therefore, no such impairment occurred during the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017.
 
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 is generally three years for stock options. 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. Awards of stock that are not performance-based are valued at the fair market value on the date of the grant and are amortized over the service period of the award. Non-employee stock-based compensation is accounted for in accordance with the guidance of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“FASB ASC”) Topic 505,
Equity.
As such, the Company recognizes 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 by such non-employees.
 
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, 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 remaining long-term obligations, including the current portion, approximates fair value because the fixed interest rate approximates current market interest rates available on similar instruments.
 
Derivative Instruments
— The Company 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, “down-round” provisions whereby the number of shares for which the warrants are exercisable and/or the exercise price of the warrants is 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 and 53,306 at September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. The primary underlying risk exposure pertaining to the warrants is the change in fair value of the underlying common stock. Such financial instruments are initially recorded at fair value with subsequent changes in fair value recorded as a component of gain or loss on derivatives on the consolidated statements of operations in each reporting period. If these instruments subsequently meet the requirements for equity classification, the Company reclassifies the fair value to equity. At September 30, 2018 and December 31, 2017, these warrants represented the only outstanding derivative instruments issued or held by the Company.
 
Leases
— In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) which supersedes FASB ASC Topic 840, Leases (Topic 840) and provides principles for the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of leases for both lessees and lessors. The new standard requires lessees to apply a dual approach, classifying leases as either finance or operating leases based on the principle of whether or not the lease is effectively a financed purchase by the lessee. This classification will determine whether lease expense is recognized based on an effective interest method or on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease, respectively. A lessee is also required to record a right-of-use asset and a lease liability for all leases with a term of greater than twelve months regardless of classification. Leases with a term of twelve months or less will be accounted for similar to existing guidance for operating leases. The standard is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2018, with early adoption permitted upon issuance. The Company is currently evaluating the method of adoption and the impact of adopting ASU 2016-02 on its results of operations, cash flows and financial position.
 
Recent Accounting Pronouncements —
In July 2017, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“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 is currently evaluating the method of adoption and the impact of adopting ASU 2017-11 on its results of operations, cash flows and financial position.