Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Preparation of Financial Statements

 

These consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the assumption that the Company will be able to realize its assets and discharge its liabilities in the normal course of business. This assumption is presently uncertain and contingent upon the Company’s ability to raise additional working capital. The financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern.

 

Reclassifications

Certain items previously reported in specific financial statement captions have been reclassified to conform to the current period presentation, including vendor share-based payments of $392,661 in the statements of cash flows. Such reclassifications do not materially impact previously reported net losses, total assets, liabilities or stockholders’ equity (deficit).

 

Principles of Consolidation

 

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

 

Use of Estimates

 

The consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes are prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“U.S. GAAP”). The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates, judgments and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, the reported amounts of revenue and expenses in the financial statements and disclosures in the accompanying notes. Actual results and outcomes may differ materially from management’s estimates, judgments and assumptions.

 

Change in Accounting Principle

 

During the second quarter of 2015, the Company elected to apply pushdown accounting to the Company’s acquisition of SymbioTec that occurred in 2012. Pushdown accounting refers to the use of the acquirer’s basis in the preparation of the acquiree’s separate financial statements as the new basis of accounting for the acquiree. Application of pushdown accounting is treated as a change in accounting principle and was applied retrospectively to the Company’s consolidated financial statements. This change resulted in no impact to the consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2015.

 

Functional Currency Change

 

Effective April 1, 2015, the functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries changed from the British Pound Sterling to the United States (“U.S.”) dollar. The changes in the economic facts and circumstances that caused the functional currency to change to that of the parent company include: the closing of the Company’s last office outside of the U.S. during the first quarter of 2015, a shift of financial dependence of the subsidiaries to the parent and the growth of the Company’s operations in U.S. dollar-denominated expenses. The Company translated assets and liabilities of these foreign subsidiaries at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date and included accumulated net translation adjustments in equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The change in functional currency is applied on a prospective basis. Therefore, any gains and losses that were previously recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) remain unchanged through March 31, 2015. Foreign currency transaction gains and losses are the result of exchange rate changes on transactions denominated in currencies other than the functional currency. The remeasurement of those foreign currency transactions is included in determining net income or loss for the period of exchange.

 

Foreign Currency Translation

 

The reporting and functional currency of the Company, including its subsidiaries, is U.S. dollars. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had operations in the U.S., United Kingdom (“U.K.”) and Germany. Through March 31, 2015, assets and liabilities of foreign operations were translated to U.S. dollars at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date and revenue and expenses at the average exchange rate for the period. Gains and losses from the translation of the consolidated financial statements of foreign subsidiaries into U.S. dollars were included in stockholders’ equity as a component of accumulated other comprehensive income (loss). The Company did not record tax provisions or benefits for the net changes in foreign currency translation adjustments, as the Company intends to permanently reinvest undistributed earnings in its foreign subsidiaries. Following the change in the functional currency of the Company’s foreign subsidiaries to the U.S. dollar on April 1, 2015, it is no longer necessary to record gains and losses from the translation of the consolidated financial statements of foreign subsidiaries from a foreign functional currency into the reporting currency.

 

Realized and unrealized gains and losses resulting from foreign currency transactions arising from exchange rate fluctuations on balances denominated in currencies other than the functional currencies, are recognized in “Other income (expense)” in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss. Monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in a currency other than the functional currency are re-measured to the functional currency using the exchange rate at the balance sheet date and gains or losses are recorded in the consolidated statements of comprehensive loss.

 

Correction of Identified Errors

 

During the second quarter of 2015, the Company identified an error in the consolidated financial statements related to the accounting for foreign currency matters. One of the Company’s subsidiary’s functional currency had been incorrectly designated as the Euro instead of British Pound Sterling during the period January 1, 2013 through March 31, 2015. As a result, certain applicable financial results of this entity were being translated to the reporting currency when they should have been first remeasured into the functional currency. In addition, the Company identified an error in the consolidated financial statements related to the pushdown accounting of that subsidiary. The new basis of accounting of the acquired entity formed as a result of the acquisition was not first remeasured into the functional currency before being translated to the reporting currency.

 

The correction of the errors identified above resulted in the recognition of foreign currency net gains and foreign currency translation net losses. We concluded that these adjustments were not material to the Company’s financial position or results of operations for any of the prior periods presented. Therefore, we recognized the cumulative impact during the year ended December 31, 2015, which resulted in a net gain in other income (expense) in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss of $0.24 million for the year ended December 31, 2015 and a cumulative impact in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated balance sheet of $0.31 million as of December 31, 2015.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The Company applies the following fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value into three levels and bases the categorization within the hierarchy upon the lowest level of input that is available and significant to the fair value measurement. Level 1 inputs are quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the reporting entity has the ability to access at the measurement date. Level 2 utilizes quoted market prices in markets that are not active, broker or dealer quotations, or alternative pricing sources with reasonable levels of price transparency. Level 3 inputs are unobservable inputs for the asset or liability in which there is little, if any, market activity for the asset or liability at the measurement date. See Note 9, Fair Value Measurements, for discussion of the Company’s fair value measurements.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of 90 days or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Investments with original maturities of greater than 90 days from the date of purchase but less than one year from the balance sheet date are classified as short-term investments, while investments with maturities of one year or beyond from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term investments. Management determines the appropriate classification of its cash equivalents and investment securities at the time of purchase and re-evaluates such determination as of each balance sheet date.

 

Restricted Cash

 

As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, restricted cash represents a certificate of deposit that matures annually, and secures the Company’s outstanding letter of credit of approximately $66,000 for the operating lease for office and laboratory space in Lexington, Massachusetts. The letter of credit is required to be maintained through the term of the lease, which expires in January 2019.

 

Concentration of Credit Risk

 

Financial instruments that subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk include cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents with various major financial institutions. The Company performs periodic evaluations of the relative credit standing of these financial institutions and limits the amount of credit exposure with any one institution.

 

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 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
    Furniture and fixtures   5 years

 

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.

 

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 was 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.

 

The Company assesses intangible assets with indefinite lives for impairment at least annually as of October 1, or when events or changes in the business environment indicate the carrying value may not be fully recoverable. The Company also has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to the determination that it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood of more than 50%) that the acquired IPR&D is impaired. If the Company chooses to first assess the qualitative factors and it is determined that it is not more likely than not acquired IPR&D is impaired, the Company is not required to take further action to test for impairment. The Company also has the option to bypass the qualitative assessment and perform only the quantitative impairment test, which the Company may choose to perform in some periods but not in others.

 

No impairment was recorded during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

 

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 is not amortized. The Company assesses goodwill for impairment at least annually, or when events or changes in the business environment indicate the carrying value may not be fully recoverable. The Company also has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether the existence of events or circumstances leads to the determination that it is more likely than not (that is, a likelihood of more than 50%) that goodwill is impaired. If the Company chooses to first assess qualitative factors and it is determined that it is not more likely than not goodwill is impaired, the Company is not required to take further action to test for impairment. The Company also has the option to bypass the qualitative assessment and perform only the quantitative impairment test, which the Company may choose to do in some periods but not in others. The Company performs its annual impairment review as of October 1.

 

No impairment was recorded during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

 

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

 

The Company reviews long-lived assets to be held and used, including property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets or asset group may not be fully recoverable. No such impairments were recorded during the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015.

 

Evaluation of recoverability is based on an estimate of undiscounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset or asset group and its eventual disposition. Impairment, if any, is calculated as the amount by which an asset’s carrying value exceeds its fair value, typically using discounted cash flows to determine fair value.

 

Embedded Derivatives Related to Debt Instruments

 

Embedded derivatives that are required to be bifurcated from their host contract are evaluated and valued separately from the host contract (i.e., the debt instrument). Features of the Company’s debt instrument that meet the definition of a derivative and the criteria for separate accounting include the conversion feature and certain put options.

 

The fair value of each embedded derivative is valued independently using a “with-and-without” method.  The “with-and-without” methodology involves valuing the whole instrument on an as-is basis and then valuing the instrument without the individual embedded derivative. The difference between the entire instrument with all of the embedded derivatives compared to the instrument without the individual embedded derivative is the fair value of that individual derivative. The embedded derivatives are settled when the underlying debt instrument is settled. Therefore, there are three possible settlement mechanisms: the debt instrument can be converted into equity, repaid early, or held to maturity.

 

Embedded derivatives are valued individually and recorded as a compound derivative. The compound derivative is presented together with the host debt instrument and the related debt discount on a combined basis. Changes in the estimated fair value of the bifurcated embedded derivatives are reported as gains and losses in the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss each reporting period.

 

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 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.

 

The terms of the Company’s license agreements include delivery of an 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 milestone payments and royalty payments on future product sales by partners. Non-refundable upfront payments and development and regulatory milestone 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 fulfil 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.

 

See also Note 4, Significant Strategic Drug Development Collaborations – Related Parties

 

Research and Development Expenses

 

Research and development expenses consist of expenses incurred in performing research and development activities, including compensation and benefits, facilities expenses, overhead expenses, clinical trial and related clinical manufacturing expenses, fees paid to clinical research organizations and clinical manufacturing organizations and other outside expenses. The Company expenses research and development costs as incurred. The Company expenses upfront, non-refundable payments made for research and development services as obligations are incurred. The value ascribed to intangible assets acquired but which have not met capitalization criteria is expensed as research and development at the time of acquisition.

 

Share-based Payments

 

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.

 

Stock option compensation expenses are based on the fair value of the 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. The expected volatility rates are estimated based on the actual volatility of the Company and of comparable public companies over the expected term of the option. The expected terms represent the time that options are expected to be outstanding. The Company estimates forfeitures at the time of grant and revises those estimates in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. The Company has not paid dividends and does not anticipate paying cash dividends in the foreseeable future and, accordingly, uses an expected dividend yield of zero. The risk-free interest rate is based on the rate of US Treasury securities with maturities consistent with the estimated expected term of the awards. Upon exercise, stock options are redeemed for newly issued shares of common stock.

 

For employee options that vest based solely on service conditions, the fair value measurement date is generally on the date of grant and the related compensation expense, less expense for expected forfeitures, is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite vesting period of the awards.

 

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 that 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 that vest based solely on service conditions is subject to re-measurement at each reporting period until the options vest and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the requisite vesting period of the awards.

 

Common stock awards

 

The Company grants common stock awards to non-employees in exchange for services provided. The Company measures the fair value of these awards using the fair value of the services provided or the fair value of the awards granted, whichever is more reliably measurable. 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 on a straight-line basis as services are rendered. The share-based payments related to common stock awards for the settlement of services provided by non-employees is recorded on the consolidated statement of comprehensive loss in the same manner and charged to the same account as if such settlements had been made in cash.

 

Warrants

 

In connection with certain financing, consulting and collaboration arrangements, the Company issues warrants to purchase shares of its common stock. The outstanding warrants are standalone instruments that are not puttable or mandatorily redeemable by the holder and are classified as equity awards. The Company measures the fair value of the awards using the Black-Scholes option pricing model as of the measurement date. Warrants issued to collaboration partners in conjunction with the issuance of common stock are initially recorded at fair value as a reduction in additional paid-in capital of the common stock issued. All other warrants are recorded at fair value as expense over the requisite service period or at the date of issuance, if there is not a service period. Warrants granted in connection with ongoing arrangements are more fully described in Note 11, Stockholders’ Equity.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes using the liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on temporary differences resulting from the different treatment of items for tax and financial reporting purposes. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to reverse. Additionally, the Company must assess the likelihood that deferred tax assets will be recovered as deductions from future taxable income. The Company evaluates the recoverability of its deferred tax assets on a quarterly basis.

 

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, prior to exercise, are considered treasury shares by the Company and thus do not impact the Company’s net loss per share calculation. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, there were 323,885 JSOP awards issued.

 

Basic and diluted net loss per share are the same for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 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 December 31, 2016 and 2015, approximately 1.7 million and 0.36 million potentially dilutive securities were deemed anti-dilutive.

 

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, who is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, in making decisions on how to allocate resources and assess performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment.

 

Operating Leases

 

The Company leases an administrative and laboratory facility under an operating lease. Lease agreements may include rent holidays, rent escalation clauses and tenant improvement allowances. The Company recognizes scheduled rent increases on a straight-line basis over the lease term beginning with the date the Company takes possession of the leased space.

 

Acquisitions

 

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. If the transaction does not meet the business combination requirements, the transaction is accounted for as an asset acquisition or recapitalization and no goodwill is 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.

 

Business combination related costs are expensed in the period in which the costs are incurred and the services are received. Asset acquisition related costs are generally capitalized as a component of cost of the assets acquired.

 

Recent Accounting Standards

 

In January 2017, the Financial Accounting Standard Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2017-04: Intangibles — Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Simplifying the Test for Goodwill Impairment (“ASU 2017-04”), which removes Step 2 from the goodwill impairment test. It is effective for annual and interim periods beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment test performed with a measurement date after January 1, 2017. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard.

 

In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash (“ASU 2016-18”) that changes the presentation of restricted cash and cash equivalents on the statement of cash flows. Restricted cash and restricted cash equivalents will be included with cash and cash equivalents when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown on the statement of cash flows. This amendment is effective for the Company in the fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2017, but early adoption is permissible. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard.

 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815) (“ASU 2016-06”). ASU 2016-06 clarifies the requirements for assessing whether contingent call or put options that can accelerate the payment of principal on debt instruments are clearly and closely related to their debt hosts. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard.

 

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718) (“ASU 2016-09”). ASU 2016-09 simplifies several aspects of employee share-based payment accounting, including income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. This guidance will become effective for us beginning in the first quarter of 2017. Early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this standard.

 

In February 2016, FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) (“ASU 2016-02”). ASU 2016-02 will require lessees to recognize a lease liability and a right-of-use asset for all leases, with the exception of short-term leases, at the commencement date. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods. Early application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard.

 

In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements – Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) (“ASU 2014-15”). ASU 2014-15 defines management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an organization’s ability to continue as a going concern and provides guidance on the related footnote disclosures. This guidance is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and interim periods within annual periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early application is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard.

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) (“ASU 2014-09”). ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 605, Revenue Recognition, and most industry-specific guidance. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled to in exchange for those goods or services. In August 2015, the FASB issued ASU 2015-15, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606): Deferral of the Effective Date, which defers the effective date of ASU 2014-09 for all entities by one year. This guidance is currently effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, under either full or modified retrospective approach. Early application is permitted as of annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this new standard on its revenue recognition policy.

 

The Company has considered other recent accounting standards 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.