Quarterly report pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d)

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

v3.19.1
Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)
3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2019
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Basis of Presentation
 
The accompanying unaudited interim condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X of the Exchange Act. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, the unaudited interim condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments, which include only normal recurring adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the balances and results for the periods presented. They may not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. Therefore, these financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company's audited financial statements and notes thereto for the year ended December 31, 2018, which were included in the Company’s Form 10-K, and filed with the SEC on March 18, 2019. The results of operations for any interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the entire fiscal year or any other interim period.
Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Use of Estimates
 
The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Cash and Cash Equivalents
 
The Company considers all short-term investments with an original maturity of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Receivables, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Other Receivables - Related Party
 
Other receivables consist of amounts due to the Company from TG Therapeutics, Inc. (“TGTX”), a related party, and are recorded at the invoiced amount (see Note 3).
Research and Development Expense, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Research and Development Costs
 
Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities are expensed when the activity has been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. Upfront and milestone payments due to third parties that perform research and development services on the Company’s behalf will be expensed as services are rendered or when the milestone is achieved.
 
Research and development costs primarily consist of personnel related expenses, including salaries, benefits, travel, and other related expenses, stock-based compensation, payments made to third parties for license and milestone costs related to in-licensed products and technology, payments made to third party contract research organizations for preclinical and clinical studies, investigative sites for clinical trials, consultants, the cost of acquiring and manufacturing clinical trial materials, costs associated with regulatory filings, laboratory costs and other supplies.
 
In accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 730-10-25-1, 
Research and Development
, costs incurred in obtaining technology licenses are charged to research and development expense if the technology licensed has not reached commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use. Such licenses purchased by the Company require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach commercial feasibility and have no alternative future use.
Equity Method Investments [Policy Text Block]
Annual Equity Fee
 
Under the Founder’s Agreement with Checkpoint dated March 17, 2015, and amended and restated on July 11, 2016, Fortress is entitled to an annual equity fee on each anniversary of the Agreement equal to 2.5% of fully diluted outstanding equity, payable in Checkpoint common shares (“Annual Equity Fee”). The Annual Equity Fee was part of the consideration payable for formation of the Company, identification of certain assets, including the license contributed to Checkpoint by Fortress (see Note 4).
 
The Company records the Annual Equity Fee in connection with the Founders Agreement with Fortress as contingent consideration.  Contingent consideration is recorded when probable and reasonably estimable. The Company’s future share prices and shares outstanding cannot be estimated prior to the issuance of the Annual Equity Fee due to the nature of its assets and the Company’s stage of development. Due to these uncertainties, the Company has concluded that it is unable to reasonably estimate the contingent consideration until shares are actually issued on January 1 of each year.
 
Pursuant to the Founders Agreement, the Company issued 960,428 shares of common stock to Fortress for the Annual Equity Fee, representing 2.5% of the fully-diluted outstanding equity of Checkpoint on January 1, 2019. Because the issuance of shares on January 1, 2019 occurred prior to the issuance of the December 31, 2018 financial statements, the Company recorded approximately $1.7 million in research and development expense and a credit to Common shares issuable - Founders Agreement during the year ended December 31, 2018.
Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]
Stock-Based Compensation Expenses
 
The Company expenses stock-based compensation over the requisite service period based on the estimated grant-date fair value of the awards and forfeiture rates. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur.
 
The Company estimates the fair value of stock option grants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. The assumptions used in calculating the fair value of stock-based awards represent management’s best estimates and involve inherent uncertainties and the application of management’s judgment. All stock-based compensation costs are recorded in general and administrative or research and development costs in the statements of operations based upon the underlying individual’s role at the Company.
Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Fair Value Measurement
 
The Company follows the accounting guidance in ASC 820 for its fair value measurements of financial assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis. Under this accounting guidance, fair value is defined as an exit price, representing the amount 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. As such, fair value is a market-based measurement that should be determined based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or a liability.
 
The accounting guidance requires fair value measurements be classified and disclosed in one of the following three categories:
 
Level 1: Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.
 
Level 2: Observable inputs other than Level 1 prices, for similar assets or liabilities that are directly or indirectly observable in the marketplace.
 
Level 3: Unobservable inputs which are supported by little or no market activity and that are financial instruments whose values are determined using pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies, or similar techniques, as well as instruments for which the determination of fair value requires significant judgment or estimation.
 
The fair value hierarchy also requires an entity to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. Assets and liabilities measured at fair value are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement.
Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Revenue from Contracts with Customers
 
The Company recognizes revenue under ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The core principle of the new revenue standard is that a company should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the company expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The following five steps are applied to achieve that core principle:
 
·
Step 1: Identify the contract with the customer
 
·
Step 2: Identify the performance obligations in the contract
 
·
Step 3: Determine the transaction price
 
·
Step 4: Allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract
 
·
Step 5: Recognize revenue when the company satisfies a performance obligation
 
In order to identify the performance obligations in a contract with a customer, a company must assess the promised goods or services in the contract and identify each promised good or service that is distinct. A performance obligation meets ASC 606’s definition of a “distinct” good or service (or bundle of goods or services) if both of the following criteria are met:
 
·
The customer can benefit from the good or service either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer (i.e., the good or service is capable of being distinct).
 
·
The entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contract (i.e., the promise to transfer the good or service is distinct within the context of the contract).
 
If a good or service is not distinct, the good or service is combined with other promised goods or services until a bundle of goods or services is identified that is distinct.
 
The transaction price is the amount of consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to a customer, excluding amounts collected on behalf of third parties (for example, some sales taxes). The consideration promised in a contract with a customer may include fixed amounts, variable amounts, or both. When determining the transaction price, an entity must consider the effects of all of the following:
 
·
Variable consideration
 
·
Constraining estimates of variable consideration
 
·
The existence of a significant financing component in the contract
 
·
Noncash consideration
 
·
Consideration payable to a customer
 
Variable consideration is included in the transaction price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of cumulative revenue recognized will not occur when the uncertainty associated with the variable consideration is subsequently resolved.
 
The transaction price is allocated to each performance obligation on a relative standalone selling price basis. The transaction price allocated to each performance obligation is recognized when that performance obligation is satisfied, at a point in time or over time as appropriate.
 
Revenue for a sales-based or usage-based royalty promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property is recognized only when (or as) the later of the following events occurs:
 
a. The subsequent sale or usage occurs.
 
b. The performance obligation to which some or all of the sales-based or usage-based royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied).
 
Incremental contract costs are expensed when incurred when the amortization period of the asset that would have been recognized is one year or less; otherwise, incremental contract costs are recognized as an asset and amortized over time as services are provided to a customer.
Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Net Loss per Share
 
Net loss per share is computed by dividing net loss by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Since dividends are declared, paid and set aside among the holders of shares of common stock and Class A common stock pro-rata on an as-if-converted basis, the two-class method of computing net loss per share is not required. Diluted net loss per share does not reflect the effect of shares of common stock to be issued upon the exercise of stock options and warrants, as their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. The following table summarizes potentially dilutive securities outstanding at March 31, 2019 and 2018, that were excluded from the computation of diluted net loss per share, as they would be anti-dilutive:
 
   
March 31,
 
   
2019
   
2018
 
Warrants (Note 6)     4,241,321       4,312,982  
Stock options (Note 6)     110,000       60,000  
Unvested restricted stock (Note 6)     3,551,459       3,015,803  
Total     7,902,780       7,388,785  
New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]
Recently Issued Accounting Standards
 
In August 2018, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update (“
ASU”)
 2018-13, “
Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820), - Disclosure Framework - Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement
,” which makes a number of changes meant to add, modify or remove certain disclosure requirements associated with the movement amongst or hierarchy associated with Level 1, Level 2 and Level 3 fair value measurements. This guidance is effective for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted upon issuance of the update. The Company does not expect the adoption of this guidance to have a material impact on its financial statements.
 
In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, 
“Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting”
, which simplifies the accounting for share-based payments granted to nonemployees for goods and services. Under the ASU, most of the guidance on such payments to nonemployees would be aligned with the requirements for share-based payments granted to employees. The changes take effect for public companies for fiscal years starting after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within that fiscal year. For all other entities, the amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. Early adoption is permitted, but no earlier than an entity’s adoption date of Topic 606. The Company adopted ASU No. 2018-07 as of January 1, 2019. The adoption of this update did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.
 
In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-18, “
Collaboration Arrangements: Clarifying the Interaction between Topic 808 and Topic 606
”. The issuance of ASC 606 raised questions about the interaction between the guidance on collaborative arrangements and revenue recognition. ASU 2018-18 addresses this uncertainty by (1) clarifying that certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue under ASC 606 when the collaboration arrangement participant is a customer, (2) adding unit of account guidance to assess whether the collaboration arrangement or a part of the arrangement is with a customer and (3) precluding a company from presenting transactions with collaboration arrangement participants that are not directly related to sales to third parties together with revenue from contracts with customers. The new standard is effective on January 1, 2020 with early adoption permitted. The Company elected to adopt ASU 2018-18 in December 2018. The adoption of this update did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements.