NOTE 2 – SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Interim financial statements

The unaudited condensed consolidated interim financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by 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 condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2015 contained herein has been derived from audited financial statements.

Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 are not necessarily indicative of results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2016. These condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the audited consolidated financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2015 included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on March 3, 2016.

Recent accounting pronouncements

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). Under the new guidance, lessees will be required to recognize the following for all leases (with the exception of short-term leases) at the commencement date: a lease liability, which is a lessee‘s obligation to make lease payments arising from a lease, measured on a discounted basis; and a right-of-use asset, which is an asset that represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term. Public business entities should apply the amendments in ASU 2016-02 for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early application is permitted. Lessees (for capital and operating leases) must apply a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing at, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements. The modified retrospective approach would not require any transition accounting for leases that expired before the earliest comparative period presented. Lessees may not apply a full retrospective transition approach. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of adopting this guidance.

In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718). The new guidance simplifies the accounting for stock-based compensation transactions, including tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities, and classification on the statement of cash flows. This update is effective in fiscal years, including interim periods, beginning after December 15, 2016, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance.

Risks and uncertainties

The Company's primary efforts are devoted to conducting research and development for the treatment of disorders of the CNS. The Company has experienced net losses and negative cash flows from operations since inception and expects these conditions to continue for the foreseeable future. Further, the Company does not have any commercial products available for sale and has not generated revenues and there is no assurance that if its products are approved for sale, that the Company will be able to generate cash flow to fund operations. In addition, there can be no assurance that the Company's research and development will be successfully completed or that any product will be approved or commercially viable.

At September 30, 2016, the Company had working capital of approximately $26.6 million, after raising approximately $10.5 million, net of expenses, through the sale of common stock in an underwritten public offering in June 2016 and from the exercise of the underwriter’s overallotment option in July 2016, and approximately $5.2 million, net of expenses, through the at-the-market (“ATM”) offering during the nine months ended September 30, 2016 (see Note 4). In addition, in October 2016, the Company raised approximately $4.6 million, net of expenses, through the sale of common stock and warrants in an underwritten public offering (see Note 8). Management believes that the Company has sufficient funds to meet its research and development and other funding requirements for at least the next 12 months. In addition to the funding already obtained or currently available to the Company, the Company intends to raise additional funds through equity or debt financing to complete the development and commercialization of its current product candidates. If the Company is unsuccessful in raising additional financing, it will need to further reduce costs and operations in the future.

Use of estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements, and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant estimates include the useful life of fixed assets, assumptions used in the fair value of stock-based compensation and other equity instruments, and the percent of completion of research and development contracts.

Cash equivalents

The Company considers cash equivalents to be those investments which are highly liquid, readily convertible to cash and have an original maturity of three months or less when purchased. At September 30, 2016, cash equivalents, which consisted of money market funds, amounted to $6.1 million.

Marketable securities

Marketable securities consist primarily of certificates of deposit and corporate, U.S. agency, and U.S. treasury bonds with maturities greater than three months and up to two years at the time of purchase. These securities, which are classified as available for sale, are carried at fair value, with unrealized gains and losses, net of any tax effect, reported in stockholders’ equity as accumulated other comprehensive (loss) income. As investments are available for current operations, they are classified as current irrespective of their maturities. Amortization of premiums is included in interest income. For the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016, the amortization of bond premiums totaled $16,000 and $62,000, respectively. For each of the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015, the amortization of bond premiums totaled $20,000. As of September 30, 2016, amortized cost basis of the securities approximated their fair value. The values of these securities may fluctuate as a result of changes in market interest rates and credit risk. Marketable securities with a principal balance aggregating $12.7 million matured during the nine months ended September 30, 2016. Marketable securities owned at September 30, 2016, all of which have maturities of 1 year or less as of such date, were as follows (in thousands): 

Property and equipment

Property and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is calculated using the straight-line method over the asset's estimated useful life, which is three years for computer assets, five years for furniture and all other equipment and term of lease for leasehold improvements. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are expensed as incurred. Depreciation and amortization expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 was $33,000 and $100,000, respectively, and $24,000 and $69,000, respectively, for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2015. All property and equipment is located in the United States.

Intangible assets with indefinite lives

During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company purchased certain internet domain rights, which were determined to have an indefinite life. Identifiable intangibles with indefinite lives are not amortized but are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that its carrying amount may not be recoverable, or at least annually. As of September 30, 2016, the Company believed that the carrying value is fully recoverable.

Research and development costs

The Company outsources certain of its research and development efforts and expenses these costs as incurred, including the cost of manufacturing products for testing, as well as licensing fees and costs associated with planning and conducting clinical trials. The value ascribed to patents and other intellectual property acquired has been expensed as research and development costs, as such property related to particular research and development projects and had no alternative future uses.

The Company estimates its expenses resulting from its obligations under contracts with vendors, clinical research organizations and consultants and under clinical site agreements in connection with conducting clinical trials. The financial terms of these contracts are subject to negotiations, which vary from contract to contract and may result in payment flows that do not match the periods over which materials or services are provided under such contracts. The Company accounts for trial expenses according to the timing of various aspects of the trial. The Company determines accrual estimates taking into account discussion with applicable personnel and outside service providers as to the progress or state of consummation of trials, or the services completed. During the course of a clinical trial, the Company adjusts its clinical expense recognition if actual results differ from its estimates. The Company makes estimates of its accrued expenses as of each balance sheet date based on the facts and circumstances known to it at that time. The Company’s clinical trial accruals are dependent upon the timely and accurate reporting of contract research organizations and other third-party vendors.

Stock-based compensation

All stock-based payments to employees and to nonemployee directors for their services as directors, including grants of restricted stock units (“RSUs”), and stock options, are measured at fair value on the grant date and recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations as compensation or other expense over the relevant service period. Stock-based payments to nonemployees are recognized as an expense over the period of performance. Such payments are measured at fair value at the earlier of the date a performance commitment is reached or the date performance is completed. In addition, for awards that vest immediately and are non-forfeitable, the measurement date is the date the award is issued.

Foreign currency translation

Operations of the Canadian subsidiary are conducted in local currency which represents its functional currency. The U.S. dollar is the functional currency of the other foreign subsidiaries. Balance sheet accounts of the Canadian subsidiary were translated from foreign currency into U.S. dollars at the exchange rate in effect at the balance sheet date and income statement accounts were translated at the average rate of exchange prevailing during the period. Translation adjustments resulting from this process were included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) on the consolidated balance sheet.

Comprehensive income (loss) 

Comprehensive income (loss) is defined as the change in equity of a business during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owners sources. It includes all changes in equity during a period except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. Other comprehensive income (loss) represents foreign currency translation adjustments and unrealized gains or losses from available for sale securities.

Income taxes

Income tax provisions or benefits for interim periods are computed based on the Company’s estimated annual effective tax rate. Based on the Company's historical losses and its expectation of continuation of losses for the foreseeable future, the Company has determined that it is more likely than not that deferred tax assets will not be realized and, accordingly, has provided a full valuation allowance. As the Company anticipates or anticipated that its net deferred tax assets at December 31, 2016 and 2015 would be fully offset by a valuation allowance, there is no federal or state income tax benefit for the periods ended September 30, 2016 and 2015 related to losses incurred during such periods.

Per share data

 Basic and diluted net loss per common share is calculated by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of outstanding shares of common stock.

 As of September 30, 2016 and 2015, there were outstanding warrants to purchase an aggregate of 1,729,217 shares of the Company’s common stock. In addition, the Company has issued to employees, directors and consultants, options to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock, of which 2,289,621 and 1,611,643 were outstanding at September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively, and RSUs issued to non-employee directors to acquire shares of the Company’s common stock, of which 112,500 and 42,000 were outstanding at September 30, 2016 and 2015, respectively (see Note 5). In computing diluted net loss per share for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2016 and 2015, no effect has been given to such options, warrants and unvested RSUs as their effect would be anti-dilutive.