Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

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Basis of Presentation and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2024
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Presentation

Basis of Presentation

 

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with United States generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”) for interim financial information, the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). They do not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. The results of operations for the interim periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results of operations for the entire fiscal year. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 filed on March 28, 2024 (“Annual Report”).

 

Principles of Consolidation

Principles of Consolidation

 

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Cocrystal Pharma, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiaries: Cocrystal Discovery, Inc., Cocrystal Pharma Australia Pty Ltd. (“Cocrystal Australia”), RFS Pharma, LLC and Cocrystal Merger Sub, Inc. Intercompany transactions and balances have been eliminated. Cocrystal Discovery, Inc. conducts all of the Company’s research and development activities and oversees ongoing clinical trials conducted by others. Cocrystal Australia operates clinical trials in Australia. The other two subsidiaries are inactive.


 

 

Segments

Segments

 

The Company operates in only one segment. Management uses cash flows as the primary measure to manage its business and does not segment its business for internal reporting or decision-making.

 

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates

 

Preparation of the Company’s consolidated financial statements in conformance with U.S. GAAP requires the Company’s management to make estimates and assumptions that impact the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the Company’s consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. The significant estimates in the Company’s consolidated financial statements relate to the valuation of equity awards and warrant liabilities, recoverability of deferred tax assets, estimated tax credit receivable and estimated useful lives of fixed assets. The Company bases estimates and assumptions on historical experience, when available, and on various factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. The Company evaluates its estimates and assumptions on an ongoing basis, and its actual results may differ from estimates made under different assumptions or conditions.

 

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Concentrations of Credit Risk

 

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash deposited in accounts held at two U.S. financial institutions, which may, at times, exceed federally insured limits of $250,000 for each institution where accounts are held. At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, our primary operating accounts held approximately $11,380,000 and $16,322,000, respectively, and our collateral account balance was $75,000 and $75,000 at a different institution. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant risks thereof.

 

Foreign Currency Transactions

Foreign Currency Transactions

 

The Company and its subsidiaries use the U.S. dollar as functional currency. Foreign currency transactions are initially measured and recorded in the functional currency using the exchange rate on the date of the transaction. Foreign exchange gains and losses arising from settlement of foreign currency transactions are recognized in profit and loss.

 

Cocrystal Australia maintains its records in Australian dollars. The monetary assets and liabilities of Cocrystal Australia are remeasured into the functional currency using the closing rate at the end of every reporting period. All nonmonetary assets and liabilities and related profit and loss accounts are remeasured into the functional currency using the historical exchange rates. Profit and loss accounts, other than those that are remeasured using the historical exchange rates, are remeasured into the functional currency using the average exchange rate for the period. Foreign exchange gains and losses arising from the remeasurement into the functional currency is recognized in profit and loss.

 

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements

 

FASB Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value under U.S. GAAP and enhances disclosures about fair value measurements. Fair value is defined under ASC 820 as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value under ASC 820 must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The standard describes a fair value hierarchy based on three levels of inputs, of which the first two are considered observable and the last unobservable, that may be used to measure fair value which are the following:

 

  Level 1 — quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
   
  Level 2 — other significant observable inputs for the assets or liabilities through corroboration with market data at the measurement date.
   
  Level 3 — significant unobservable inputs that reflect management’s best estimate of what market participants would use to price the assets or liabilities at the measurement date.

 

 

The Company categorizes its cash and restricted cash as Level 1 fair value measurements. The Company categorizes its warrants potentially settleable in cash as Level 2 fair value measurements. The warrants potentially settleable in cash are measured at fair value on a recurring basis and are being marked to fair value at each reporting date until they are completely settled or meet the requirements to be accounted for as component of stockholders’ equity. The warrants are valued using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as discussed in Note 7 – Warrants.

 

At March 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, the carrying amounts of financial assets and liabilities, such as cash, other current assets, and accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate their fair values due to their short-term nature. The carrying values of leases payable approximate their fair values due to the fact that the interest rates on these obligations are based on prevailing market interest rates.

 

The Company’s derivative liabilities are considered Level 3 measurements.

 

Long-Lived Assets

Long-Lived Assets

 

The Company regularly reviews the carrying value and estimated lives of its long-lived assets, including property and equipment, to determine whether indicators of impairment may exist which warrant adjustments to carrying values or estimated useful lives. The determinants used for this evaluation include management’s estimate of the asset’s ability to generate positive income from operations and positive cash flow in future periods as well as the strategic significance of the assets to the Company’s business objective. Should an impairment exist, the impairment loss would be measured based on the excess of the carrying amount over the asset’s fair value.

 

Research and Development Expenses

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development costs consist primarily of fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, and other expenses relating to the acquisition, design, development and testing of the Company’s clinical products. All research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs are presented net of tax credits.

 

The Company’s Australian subsidiary is entitled to receive government assistance in the form of refundable and non-refundable research and development tax credits (“Refundable Tax Credits”) from the federal and provincial taxation authorities, based on qualifying expenditures incurred during the fiscal year. The Refundable Tax Credits are from the provincial taxation authorities and are not dependent on its ongoing tax status or tax position and accordingly are not considered part of income taxes. The Company records Refundable Tax Credits as a reduction of research and development expenses when the Company can reasonably estimate the amounts and it is more likely than not, they will be received. As of December 31, 2023, balance of Refundable Tax Credits was approximately $786,000. The Company estimated and accrued Refundable Tax Credits for the three months ended March 31, 2024 of approximately $194,000, resulting in a total balance of Refundable Tax Credits receivable of approximately $980,000 as of the period then ended.

 

Income Taxes

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that are expected to be in effect when the differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Realization of deferred tax assets is dependent upon future taxable income. A valuation allowance is recognized if it is more likely than not that some portion or all of a deferred tax asset will not be realized based on the weight of available evidence, including expected future earnings. The Company recognizes an uncertain tax position in its financial statements when it concludes that a tax position is more likely than not to be sustained upon examination based solely on its technical merits. Only after a tax position passes the first step of recognition will measurement be required. Under the measurement step, the tax benefit is measured as the largest amount of benefit that is more likely than not to be realized upon effective settlement. This is determined on a cumulative probability basis. The full impact of any change in recognition or measurement is reflected in the period in which such change occurs. The Company elects to accrue any interest or penalties related to income taxes as part of its income tax expense.

 

 

As of March 31, 2024, the Company assessed its income tax expense based on its projected future taxable income for the year ending December 31, 2024 and therefore recorded no amount for income tax expense for the three months ended March 31, 2024. In addition, the Company has significant deferred tax assets available to offset income tax expense due to net operating loss carry forwards which are currently subject to a full valuation allowance based on the Company’s assessment of future taxable income. Refer to our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 for more information.

 

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation

 

The Company recognizes compensation expense using a fair value-based method for costs related to stock-based payments, including stock options. The fair value of options awarded to employees is measured on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model and is recognized as expense over the requisite service period on a straight-line basis.

 

Use of the Black-Scholes option pricing model requires the input of subjective assumptions including expected volatility, expected term, and a risk-free interest rate. The Company estimates volatility using a blend of its own historical stock price volatility as well as that of market comparable entities since the Company’s common stock has limited trading history and limited observable volatility of its own. The expected term of the options is estimated by using the SEC Staff Bulletin No. 107’s Simplified Method for Estimate Expected Term. The risk-free interest rate is estimated using comparable published federal funds rates.

 

Common Stock Purchase Warrants and Other Derivative Financial Instruments

Common Stock Purchase Warrants and Other Derivative Financial Instruments

 

We classify as equity any contracts that require physical settlement or net-share settlement or provide us a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in our own shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement) provided that such contracts are indexed to our own stock as defined in ASC 815-40, Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity. We classify as assets or liabilities any contracts that require net-cash settlement (including a requirement to net cash settle the contract if an event occurs and if that event is outside our control) or give the counterparty a choice of net-cash settlement or settlement in shares (physical settlement or net-share settlement). We assess classification of our common stock purchase warrants and other freestanding derivatives at each reporting date to determine whether a change in classification between assets and liabilities is required.

 

Net Income (Loss) per Share

Net Income (Loss) per Share

 

The Company accounts for and discloses net income (loss) per common share in accordance with FASB ASC Topic 260, Earnings Per Share. Basic income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing income (loss) attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net income (loss) per common share is computed by dividing net income (loss) attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares that would have been outstanding during the period assuming the issuance of common stock for all potential dilutive common shares outstanding. Potential common shares consist of shares issuable upon the exercise of stock options and warrants and the conversion of convertible notes payable.

 

The following table sets forth the number of potential common shares excluded from the calculations of net loss per diluted share because their inclusion would be anti-dilutive (in thousands):

 

    2024     2023  
    March 31,  
    2024     2023  
Outstanding options to purchase common stock     558       350  
Warrants to purchase common stock     -       13  
Total     558       363  

 

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

Authoritative guidance issued by the FASB (including technical corrections to the ASC), the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the SEC did not, or are not expected to, have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.