2.	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Preparation of Interim Financial Statements

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared by the Company pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and, in the opinion of management, include all normal and recurring adjustments necessary to present fairly the results of the interim periods shown. Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with 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 for the full year. The condensed consolidated financial statements contained herein should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2013 Annual Report on Form 10-K.

Principles of Consolidation

The financial statements of the Company include the accounts of Xenetic Biosciences plc and its wholly owned subsidiaries; Lipoxen Technologies Limited, Xenetic Bioscience, Incorporated, and SymbioTec GmbH (“SymbioTec”). All material intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated on consolidation.

In accordance with the reverse acquisition guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 805 Business Combinations (“ASC 805”), the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2013 of the Company (the accounting acquiree) are a continuation of the financial statements of Xenetic UK (the accounting acquirer), adjusted to retroactively change Xenetic UK’s legal capital to reflect the legal capital of the Company. This adjustment was calculated based upon the share exchange ratio of 56 new shares of Company common stock for every whole 175 shares of Xenetic UK capital stock previously issued and outstanding. Comparative information preserved in these consolidated financial statements is also retroactively adjusted to reflect the legal capital of the Company. The legal capital at March 31, 2014 reflects the legal capital of the Company after the Acquisition date and therefore requires no adjustment.

Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets

Acquired indefinite-lived intangible assets consist of In-Process Research and Development (“IPR&D”) related to the Company’s business combination with SymbioTec, which were recorded at fair value on the acquisition date. IPR&D intangible assets are considered indefinite-lived intangible assets until completion or abandonment of the associated research and development efforts. Substantial additional research and development may be required before the Company’s IPR&D reaches technological feasibility. Upon completion of the IPR&D project, the IPR&D assets will be amortized over their estimated useful lives.

In accordance with ASC Topic 350 Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (“ASC 350”), the Company assesses intangible assets with indefinite lives for impairment using the two-step impairment test at least annually on October 1, or when events or changes in the business environment indicate the carrying value may not be fully recoverable. The determinations as to whether, and, if so, the extent to which, acquired IPR&D become impaired are highly judgmental and based on significant assumptions regarding the projected future financial condition and operating results, changes in the manner of the use and development of the acquired assets, the Company’s overall business strategy, and regulatory, market and economic environment and trends. No impairment was recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2014 or 2013.

 

Goodwill

Goodwill is comprised of the purchase price of business combinations in excess of the fair value assigned at acquisition to the net tangible and identifiable intangible assets acquired. Goodwill was assigned to the Company’s single reporting unit at the date of the acquisition of SymbioTec. See Footnote 3, Acquisitions, for further information on the goodwill activity related to the Acquisition and the subsequent disposal of subsidiaries. Goodwill is not amortized, but in accordance with ASC 350, the Company assesses goodwill for impairment using the two-step impairment test at least annually, or when events or changes in the business environment indicate the carrying value may not be fully recoverable. The Company performs its annual impairment review on October 1.

In addition, the Company assesses market conditions, industry developments and internal operations to determine if events or changes in the business environment indicate the carrying value of goodwill may not be fully recoverable. No impairments were recorded during the three months ended March 31, 2014 or 2013.

Property and Equipment

The Company records property and equipment at cost less accumulated depreciation. Expenditures for major renewals and improvements which extend the life or usefulness of the asset are capitalized. Items of an ordinary repair or maintenance nature are charged directly to operating expense as incurred. The Company periodically reviews the estimated useful lives assigned to property and equipment, and the Company changes its estimates to reflect the results of those reviews. During the first quarter of 2014, the Company completed such a review and, as a result, decreased the estimated useful lives of laboratory and office and computer equipment from four years to three years. Separately, the estimated useful lives of leasehold improvements was increased from four years to five years. The effect of this change in estimate for the three months ended March 31, 2014 is not material to the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

The Company calculates depreciation using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets:

 

Asset Classification		Estimated Useful Life
Laboratory equipment		3 years
Office and computer equipment		3 years
Leasehold improvements		5 years or the remaining term of the lease, if shorter

The Company eliminates the cost of assets retired or otherwise disposed of, along with the corresponding accumulated depreciation, from the related accounts, and the resulting gain or loss is reflected in the results of operations.

 

Revenue Recognition

The Company enters into supply, license and collaboration arrangements with pharmaceutical and biotechnology partners, some of which include royalty agreements based on potential net sales of approved commercial pharmaceutical products. The Company recognizes revenue in accordance with the authoritative guidance, ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition. The Company recognizes revenue when all of the following criteria are met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, (ii) delivery (or passage of title) has occurred or services have been rendered, (iii) the seller’s price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured.

License, collaboration and other

The terms of the Company’s license agreements include delivery of an Intellectual Property (“IP”) license to a collaboration partner. The Company may be compensated under license arrangements through a combination of non-refundable upfront payments, development and regulatory objective payments and royalty payments on future product sales by partners. Non-refundable upfront payments and development and regulatory objective payments received by the Company in license and collaboration arrangements that include future obligations, such as supply obligations, are recognized ratably over the Company’s expected performance period under each respective arrangement. The Company makes its best estimate of the period over which the Company expects to fulfill the Company’s performance obligations, which may include technology transfer assistance, research activities, clinical development activities, and manufacturing activities from development through the commercialization of the product. Given the uncertainties of these collaboration arrangements, significant judgment is required to determine the duration of the performance period. Non-refundable upfront license fees received, whereby continued performance or future obligations are considered inconsequential or perfunctory to the relevant licensed technology, are recognized as revenue upon delivery of the technology.

The Company expects to recognize royalty revenue in the period of sale, based on the underlying contract terms, provided that the reported sales are reliably measurable and the Company has no remaining performance obligations, assuming all other revenue recognition criteria are met.

Reimbursements for research and development services completed by the Company related to the collaboration agreements are recognized in operations as revenue on a gross basis.

The Company’s license and collaboration agreements with certain collaboration partners could also provide for future payments to the Company based solely upon the performance of the respective collaboration partner in consideration of deadline extensions or upon the achievement of specified sales volumes of approved drugs. For such payments, the Company expects to recognize the payments as revenue when earned under the applicable contract terms on a performance basis or ratably over the term of the agreement. These payments may also be recognized as revenue when continued performance or future obligations by the Company are considered inconsequential or perfunctory.

 

Share-Based Compensation

Stock options

The Company grants share-based payments in the form of options to employees and non-employees, Joint Share Ownership Plan (“JSOP”) awards to employees, as well as agreements to issue common stock in exchange for services provided by non-employees. The Company measures share-based payments in accordance with ASC Topic 718, Compensation – Stock Compensation.

Stock option compensation expenses are based on the fair value of the underlying option calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. Determining the appropriate fair value model and related assumptions requires judgment, including estimating share price volatility and expected terms of the awards.

For employee options, the fair value measurement date is generally on the date of grant and the related compensation expense is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite period of the awards, less expense for expected forfeitures. Share-based compensation expense related to stock options granted to non-employees is recognized as the services are rendered on a straight-line basis. For non-employee options, the fair value measurement date is the earlier of the date the performance of services is complete or the date the performance commitment has been reached. The Company generally determines the fair value of the stock options is more reliably measurable than the fair value of the services received. Compensation expense related to stock options granted to non-employees is subject to re-measurement at each reporting period until the options vest. The Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Upon exercise, stock options are redeemed for newly issued shares of common stock.

Common stock awards

The Company grants common stock awards to non-employees in exchange for services provided. The Company generally measures the fair value of these awards using the fair value of the services provided as it is a more reliable measure of the fair value of the awards. The fair value measurement date of these awards is generally the date the performance of services is complete. The fair value of the awards is recognized as services are rendered on a straight-line basis.

Joint Share Ownership Plan awards

The Company measures the fair value of JSOP awards using Monte Carlo simulations based on the terms of the plan, which includes vesting conditions based on the achievement of certain market conditions in the form of share price hurdles. Accordingly, the Company recognizes compensation expense related to its JSOP awards using a graded vesting model. Determination of the appropriate fair value model and related assumptions requires judgment, including estimating share price volatility and the expected term of the awards.

 

Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Share

The Company computes basic net loss per share by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of shares of common stock outstanding during the period. The Company computes diluted net loss per share after giving consideration to the dilutive effect of stock options that are outstanding during the period, except where such non-participating securities would be anti-dilutive. The Company’s JSOP awards are considered treasury shares by the Company and thus do not impact the Company’s net loss per share calculation.

Basic and diluted net loss per share are the same for both of the three month periods ended March 31, 2014 and 2013 as the Company was in a net loss position. Potentially dilutive non-participating securities have not been included in the calculations of diluted net loss per share, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. As of March 31, 2014 and 2013, 22,808,663 and 25,241,195 potentially dilutive non-participating securities were deemed anti-dilutive.

Business Combinations

The Company has a history of engaging in acquisition transactions that require the Company to evaluate whether the transaction meets the criteria of a business combination and, in some cases, whether it meets the definition of a reverse merger. For those acquisitions that meet the criteria for a reverse merger, the Company evaluates the entities involved to distinguish the appropriate accounting acquirer and acquiree according to ASC 805. If the transaction does not meet the reverse merger business combination requirements, the transaction is accounted for as a recapitalization and no goodwill or intangible assets are recognized. If the acquisition meets the definition of a business combination, the Company allocates the purchase price, including any contingent consideration, to the assets acquired and the liabilities assumed at their estimated fair values as of the date of the acquisition with any excess of the purchase price paid over the estimated fair value of net assets acquired recorded as goodwill. The fair value of the assets acquired and liabilities assumed is typically determined by using either estimates of replacement costs or discounted cash flow valuation methods.

When determining the fair value of tangible assets acquired, the Company estimates the cost to replace the asset with a new asset taking into consideration such factors as age, condition and the economic useful life of the asset. When determining the fair value of intangible assets acquired, the Company uses judgment to estimate the applicable discount rate, growth rates and the timing and amount of future cash flows. The fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is typically determined using the assistance of an independent third party specialist.

Acquisition related costs are expensed in the period in which the costs are incurred and the services are received.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

The Company has considered recent accounting pronouncements and concluded that they are either not applicable to the business, or that no material effect is expected on the consolidated financial statements as a result of future adoption.