BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies) |
12 Months Ended | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dec. 31, 2024 | |||||||||||||
BASIS OF PRESENTATION AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES | |||||||||||||
Basis of Presentation |
Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”). Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) and as amended by Accounting Standards Updates (“ASU”) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”). |
||||||||||||
Principles of Consolidation |
Principles of Consolidation The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiary. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. |
||||||||||||
Use of Estimates |
Use of Estimates The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make certain estimates, judgements 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 the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Significant estimates and assumptions made in the accompanying consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accrual for research and development expenses, the valuation of warrant liabilities and embedded derivative liabilities. Actual results could differ from those estimates, and such differences could be material to the consolidated financial statements. |
||||||||||||
Segment Information |
Segment Information Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker (“CODM”), or decision-making group, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company has one operating segment and its Chief Executive Officer serves as the CODM. Substantially all of the Company’s assets are located in Canada. Refer to additional Segment Information in Note 10. |
||||||||||||
Foreign and Functional Currency |
Foreign and Functional Currency The Company determines its functional currency as the currency of the primary economic environment in which the Company operates. To determine the primary economic environment, the Company considers salient economic factors, including cash flow indicators, expense indicators and financing indicators. Functional currency is a matter of fact, not a policy election and the Company will only reevaluate its functional currency if there is a significant change in facts and circumstances. Prior to July 1, 2023, the Company’s functional currency was the Canadian dollar (“C$”). Translation gains and losses from the application of the United States dollar (“US$”) as the reporting currency during the period that the Canadian dollar was the functional currency were included as part of cumulative foreign currency translation adjustment, which is reported as a component of stockholders’ equity (deficit) as accumulated other comprehensive loss. Following the Company’s voluntary delisting from the Toronto Stock Exchange in July 2023, the Company determined there was a significant change in its facts and circumstances, and completed a reassessment of its functional currency. The Company determined that, as of July 1, 2023, the Company’s functional currency had changed from the C$ to the US$. The Company reassessment included analysis of various factors, including: the Company’s cash flows and expenses denominated primarily in US$, the primary market for the Company’s Common Shares trading in US$ and a majority ownership by U.S. shareholders from financings denominated in US$. The change in functional currency was accounted for prospectively from July 1, 2023 and consolidated financial statements prior to and including the period ended June 30, 2023 were not restated for the change in functional currency. For periods commencing July 1, 2023, monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are translated into US$ using exchange rates in effect at the end of the reporting period. Opening balances related to non-monetary assets and liabilities are based on prior period translated amounts, and non-monetary assets acquired, and non-monetary liabilities incurred after July 1, 2023 are translated at the approximate exchange rate prevailing at the date of the transaction. Revenue and expense transactions are translated at the approximate exchange rate in effect at the time of the transaction. Foreign exchange gains and losses are included in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss within operating expenses. |
||||||||||||
Cash and Cash Equivalents |
Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2024 and 2023, the Company did not have any material cash equivalents. |
||||||||||||
Short-term Investments |
Short-term Investments Short-term investments consist of guaranteed certificates of deposit with a maturity greater than 90 days and up to one year at the time of purchase. Accordingly, all short-term investments are classified as current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets. The short-term investment is being held as collateral for the Company’s credit cards. |
||||||||||||
Concentration of Credit Risk |
Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a significant concentration of credit risk consist of cash and short-term investments. Cash is deposited in checking and money market accounts at accredited financial institutions, which at times, may exceed federally insured limits. The short-term investment is deposited in a guaranteed certificate of deposit with an accredited financial institution that guarantees 100% of the original amount invested. As of December 31, 2024, the Company has not experienced any losses on its cash or short-term investments as a result of credit risk. |
||||||||||||
Fair Value Measurements |
Fair Value Measurements FASB ASC 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, (“ASC 820”) defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, as established by ASC 820, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable:
To the extent that the valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. 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 warrant liabilities and share-based compensation liability were classified as Level 3 financial instruments for the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023. The carrying amounts of prepaid and other current assets, short-term investments, accounts payable, and accrued expenses are generally considered to be representative of their fair value based on the short-term nature of these financial instruments. |
||||||||||||
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets |
Impairment of Long-lived Assets The Company evaluates its long-lived assets, which consist of property and equipment and definite-lived intangible assets, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to the estimated future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. No material impairments have been identified as of each of December 31, 2024 and 2023. |
||||||||||||
Property and Equipment |
Property and Equipment Property and equipment, net are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation expense is recognized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of each asset. Laboratory and equipment are depreciated over to five years. Computer equipment is depreciated over to three years. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of assets disposed of and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and any resulting gain or loss is included in loss from operations in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. Expenditures for repairs and maintenance are expensed as incurred. The Company did not have any material property and equipment as of December 31, 2024 and 2023. |
||||||||||||
Intangible Assets |
Intangible Assets Definite-lived intangible assets are stated at cost less accumulated amortization and any accumulated impairment losses. An intangible asset’s carrying amount is assessed for impairment whenever there is an indication that the asset may be impaired. The Company’s definite-lived intangible assets consist of acquired rights and patents. Intangible assets are amortized on a straight-line basis over the lesser of the life of the intangible asset or its estimated useful life, which is 15 years. The Company did not have any material intangible assets as of December 31, 2024. |
||||||||||||
Derivative Liability |
Derivative Liability The Company evaluates its convertible debt, warrants or other contracts to determine if those contracts or embedded components of those contracts qualify as derivatives to be separately accounted for in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging and Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity. The result of this accounting treatment is that the fair value of the embedded derivative, if required to be bifurcated, is marked-to-market at each balance sheet date and recorded as a liability. The change in fair value is recorded in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss as a component of other income or expense. Upon conversion or exercise of a derivative instrument, the instrument is marked to fair value at the conversion date and then that fair value is reclassified to equity. The Company did not have any bifurcated derivative liabilities as of December 31, 2024. |
||||||||||||
Collaboration Arrangements |
Collaboration Arrangements The Company may enter into collaboration arrangements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners. The Company analyzes its collaboration arrangements to assess whether they are within the scope of FASB ASC 808, Collaborative Arrangements, (“ASC 808”), to determine whether such arrangements involve joint operating activities performed by the parties that are both active participants in the activities and exposed to significant risks and rewards dependent on the commercial success of such activities. This assessment is performed throughout the life of the arrangement based on changes in responsibilities of all parties in the arrangement. ASC 808 does not provide guidance on the recognition of consideration exchanged or accounting for the obligations that may arise between parties. The Company concluded that ASC Topic 730, Research and Development, should be applied by analogy to payments between parties during the development activities of its collaboration arrangements. |
||||||||||||
General and Administrative Expenses |
General and Administrative Expenses General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel costs including salary, bonus, employee-benefits and share-based compensation, costs incurred in development and protection of intellectual property, professional service fees, and other general overhead and facility costs, including rent, depreciation and amortization, which relate to the Company’s general and administrative functions. |
||||||||||||
Research and Development Expenses |
Research and Development Expenses Research and development expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in connection with the development and research of the Company’s platform technology, as well as discovery program expenses. The Company expenses research and development costs as incurred. These expenses include:
|
||||||||||||
Prepaid and Accrued Research and Development Expenses |
Prepaid and Accrued Research and Development Expenses Substantial portions of the Company’s pre-clinical development, manufacturing and clinical trials are performed by third-party laboratories, medical centers, CROs and other vendors. These vendors generally bill monthly for services performed, or bill based upon milestone achievement. For preclinical and clinical studies, the Company accrues expenses based upon estimated percentage of work completed and the remaining contract milestones. At times, the Company is obligated to make upfront payments upon execution of research and development agreements. Upfront payments, including nonrefundable amounts, for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are capitalized as prepaid expenses until such goods are delivered or the related services are performed. The Company estimates the period over which such services will be performed based on the terms of the agreements as well as the level of effort to be expended in each period. Sometimes the actual timing of performance or the level of effort varies from the estimate, and if that does occur, the Company will adjust the amounts recorded accordingly. |
||||||||||||
Patent Costs |
Patent Costs All patent-related costs incurred in connection with filing and prosecuting patent applications are expensed as incurred due to the uncertainty about the recovery of the expenditure. Amounts incurred are classified as general and administrative expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. |
||||||||||||
Warrants |
Warrants The Company issues warrants on its common shares in connection with financings as well as for compensation of intermediaries and advisors. The Company accounts for warrants as either equity instruments or as liabilities depending on the specific terms of the warrant agreements in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging and Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities from Equity. When classified as equity, warrants are recorded within additional paid-in-capital at the time of issuance and are not subsequently remeasured. Warrants identified as meeting the definition of a liability are recognized as a liability and treated in accordance with the derivative liability accounting policy described above. The Company periodically reassesses the appropriateness of the classification of its financial instruments. The Company also issues pre-funded warrants, warrants exercisable for $0.01, which follow the same accounting policy as the common share warrants. |
||||||||||||
Debt Issuance Costs |
Debt Issuance Costs Debt issuance costs are specifically identifiable costs associated with issuance of a new debt instrument. Debt issuance costs are reported on the consolidated balance sheets as a direct deduction from the face amount of the related debt. Debt issuance costs are amortized to interest expense using the effective interest method over the term of the related debt. |
||||||||||||
Share-based Compensation |
Share-based Compensation Share-based compensation expense related to share awards granted to employees, directors and non-employees is recognized based on the grant-date estimated fair values of the awards using the Black- Scholes option pricing model (“Black-Scholes”). The value is recognized as expense ratably over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting term of the award. The Company adjusts the expense for actual forfeitures as they occur. Share based compensation expense is classified in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss based on the function to which the related services are provided. Black Scholes requires a number of assumptions, of which the most significant are expected volatility, expected option term (the time from the grant date until the options are exercised or expire) and risk-free rate. Expected volatility is determined using the historical volatility for the Company. The risk-free interest rate is based on the yield of Canadian government bonds with a remaining term equal to the expected life of the option for C$ options and based on the yield of U.S. government treasury bonds for US$ options. Expected dividend yield is zero because the Company has never paid cash dividends on common shares and the Company does not expect to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. For awards with market conditions in which the award does not vest unless the market condition is met, the Company will incorporate the market condition into the award’s grant date fair value calculation and derive the expected service period using a Monte Carlo simulation. The estimated expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the derived service period. If the market condition is satisfied during the derived service period, the remaining unrecognized expense will be recognized during the period the market condition is satisfied. Awards of options that provide for an exercise price that is not denominated in: (a) the currency of a market in which a substantial portion of the Company's equity securities trades in, (b) the currency in which the employee's pay is denominated, or (c) the Company's functional currency, are required to be classified as liabilities. The change in the Company’s functional currency, effective July 1, 2023, resulted in the reclassification of outstanding stock options that were previously denominated in C$ from equity-classified to liability-classified options (see Note 8), which are accounted for as a share option modification in accordance with FASB’s ASC 718 – Compensation – Stock Compensation (“ASC 718”). Under ASC 718, when an award is reclassified from equity to liability, if at the reclassification date the original vesting conditions are expected to be satisfied, then the minimum amount of compensation cost to be recognized is based on the grant date fair value of the original award. Fair value changes below this minimum amount are recorded in additional paid-in capital. For each reporting period after the modification date, the stock option liability is adjusted so that it equals the portion of the requisite service provided multiplied by the modified award’s fair value at the end of the reporting period. Increases in the fair value of the liability in excess of the minimum grant date compensation cost described above are recognized as share-based compensation in operating expenses in the consolidated statement of operations and comprehensive loss. |
||||||||||||
Share Issuance Costs |
Share Issuance Costs Common share issuance costs are incremental costs directly associated with an offering of securities. These costs typically include fees paid to bankers or underwriters, attorneys, accountants, as well as printers and other third parties. Prior to the effective date of an offering of equity securities, specific incremental costs directly attributable to a proposed or actual offering of securities may be deferred and charged against the gross proceeds of the offering. The Company capitalizes these deferred financing costs as prepaid expenses and other current assets in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets until the completion of the offering, unless the offering is abandoned, at which time the deferred financing costs will be recognized in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss. During the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company recognized general and administrative expenses of $0.8 million related to abandoned offerings and had deferred financing costs of $0.2 million related to the Company’s at-the-market offering in prepaid expenses and other current assets on the consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2023. The Company had no deferred financing costs as of December 31, 2024. |
||||||||||||
Income Taxes |
Income Taxes The Company is a taxable entity under the Income Tax Act (Canada). Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the respective income tax bases of assets and liabilities, measured using substantively enacted income tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Deferred tax assets are recognized to the extent it is more likely than not that taxable income will be available against which the deferred tax asset can be utilized. Deferred tax assets are reduced by a valuation allowance if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. The Company follows the provisions of ASC 740-10, Uncertainty in Income Taxes (“ASC 740-10”). The Company has not recognized a liability as a result of the implementation of ASC 740-10. A reconciliation of the beginning and ending amount of unrecognized tax benefits has not been provided since there is no unrecognized benefit since the date of adoption. The Company has recognized interest expense or penalties as a result of the implementation of ASC 740-10. If there were an unrecognized tax benefit, the Company would recognize interest accrued related to unrecognized tax benefits in interest expense and penalties in operating expenses. |
||||||||||||
Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share |
Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) Per Share Basic net income (loss) per common share is based upon the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income (loss) per common share utilizing the treasury-stock method is based upon the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period plus additional weighted-average common equivalent shares outstanding during the period when the effect is dilutive. Potentially dilutive shares result from the assumed potential exercise or conversion of securities, such as convertible debt, share options and warrants, which would result in the issuance of incremental shares of common shares. The proceeds of such exercises or conversions are assumed to have been used to repurchase outstanding stock using the treasury stock method. Both basic and diluted net income (loss) per share calculations include financial instruments that allow for the purchase of common shares issuable for little to no consideration, including pre-funded warrants. |
||||||||||||
Emerging Growth Company Status |
Emerging Growth Company Status The Company is an Emerging Growth Company, as defined in Section 2(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as modified by the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012 (“JOBS Act”). Under the JOBS Act, emerging growth companies can delay adopting new or revised accounting standards issued subsequent to the enactment of the JOBS Act, until such time as those standards apply to private companies. The Company has elected to use this extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards that have different effective dates for public and private companies until the earlier of the date that it (i) is no longer an emerging growth company or (ii) affirmatively and irrevocably opts out of the extended transition period provided in the JOBS Act. As a result, these consolidated financial statements may not be comparable to companies that comply with the new or revised accounting pronouncements as of public company effective dates. |
||||||||||||
Recently Adopted and Issued Accounting Pronouncements |
Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncements In 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures (“ASU 2023-07”), which requires public entities to disclose significant segment expenses and other segment items. ASU 2023-07 also requires public entities to provide in interim periods all disclosures about a reportable segment’s profit or loss and assets that are currently required annually. ASU 2023-07 became effective for the annual period starting on January 1, 2024, and for the interim periods starting on January 1, 2025. Significant segment expenses, other segment items, and measures of segment profit or loss are disclosed in Note 10. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures (“ASU 2023-09”), which requires public entities to disclose in their rate reconciliation table additional categories of information about federal, state and foreign income taxes and to provide more details about the reconciling items in some categories if items meet a quantitative threshold. ASU 2023-09 becomes effective for the annual period starting on January 1, 2025. The Company is in the process of analyzing the impact that the adoption of ASU 2023-09 will have on its income tax disclosures. |