2. SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES Basis of Presentation The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”). Principles of Consolidation The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Elevation Oncology Securities Corporation. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with U.S. GAAP requires the use of estimates and assumptions, based on judgments considered reasonable, which 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. The Company bases its estimates and assumptions on known trends and events and various other factors that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances, the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. Significant estimates and assumptions reflected in these consolidated financial statements include, but are not limited to, the accruals for research and development expenses, the valuation of common stock and the assumptions used in the valuation of share-based compensation awards. Changes in estimates are recorded in the period in which they become known. Due to the risks and uncertainties involved in the Company’s business and evolving market conditions and, given the subjective element of the estimates and assumptions made, actual results may differ from estimated results. Segment Information Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete information is available and regularly reviewed by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment, which is the discovery and development of cancer therapies for patient populations with significant unmet medical needs. All material long-lived assets of the Company reside in the United States. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less to be cash equivalents. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, cash equivalents consisted of money market funds. The Company places its cash with high-credit-quality financial institutions domiciled in the United States. Deferred Financing Costs The incremental cost, including the fair value of warrants, directly associated with obtaining debt financing is capitalized as deferred financing costs upon the issuance of the debt and amortized over the term of the related debt agreement using the effective-interest method with such amortized amounts included as a component of interest expense in the consolidated statements of operations. Unamortized deferred financing costs are presented on the consolidated balance sheets as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of the related debt obligation. Concentrations of Credit Risk and Significant Suppliers Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentration of credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents. The Company’s money market funds are invested in highly rated funds. Periodically, the Company maintains deposits in accredited financial institutions in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses on its deposits of cash and cash equivalents and does not believe that it is exposed to any unusual credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. The Company is dependent on third-party manufacturers to supply products for research and development activities of its programs, including preclinical and clinical testing. These programs could be adversely affected by a significant interruption in the supply of such drug substance and drug products. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had two and three vendors that accounted for approximately 66% and 78% of its research and development expense, respectively. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had two vendors that accounted for approximately 39% and 87% of the total accounts payable, respectively. Property and Equipment Property and equipment consist of computer software that is recorded at cost and depreciated on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of the disposed asset and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is recognized. The Company reviews its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying value of assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability is measured by comparison of the asset’s book value to future net undiscounted cash flows that the assets are expected to generate. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the book value of the assets exceed their fair value, which is measured based on the projected discounted future net cash flows arising from the assets. No impairment losses have been recorded through December 31, 2023. Cloud Computing Arrangements The Company defers implementation costs incurred in cloud computing hosting arrangements in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2018-15 and amortizes these costs over the noncancelable term of the cloud computing arrangement, plus any optional renewal periods (1) that are reasonably certain to be exercised by the Company or (2) for which exercises of the renewal option is controlled by the cloud service provider. Costs incurred during the application development stage are capitalized within either prepaid expenses and other current assets, or in other assets, net on the Company’s consolidated balance sheets. Amortization of implementation costs is on a straight-line basis over the related hosting arrangement term and is reflected in research and development expenses in the consolidated statements of operations. Fair Value Measurements Certain assets and liabilities are carried at fair value under U.S. GAAP. Fair value is defined 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 must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Financial assets and liabilities carried at fair value are to be classified and disclosed in one of the following three levels of the fair value hierarchy, of which the first two are considered observable and the last is considered unobservable: | ● | Level 1—Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities. |
| ● | Level 2—Observable inputs (other than Level 1 quoted prices), such as quoted prices in active markets for similar assets or liabilities, quoted prices in markets that are not active for identical or similar assets or liabilities, or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data. |
| ● | Level 3—Non-observable inputs that are supported by little or no market activity and that are significant to determining the fair value of the assets or liabilities, including pricing models, discounted cash flow methodologies and similar techniques. |
The Company’s cash equivalents and marketable securities are carried at fair value, determined according to the fair value hierarchy described above (see Note 3). The carrying amount of the Company’s accounts payable approximates fair value due to its short-term nature. The carrying value of the Company’s long-term debt approximates its fair value due to its variable interest rate. Marketable Securities, Available for Sale All marketable securities have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at fair value, based upon quoted market prices. The Company considers its available-for-sale portfolio as available for use in current operations. Accordingly, the Company may classify certain investments as short-term marketable securities, even though the stated maturity date may be one year or more beyond the current balance sheet date. Unrealized gains and losses, net of any related tax effects, are excluded from earnings and are included in other comprehensive income (loss) and reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity until realized. Interest income, realized gains and losses, and declines in value judged to be other than temporary, if any, on available-for-sale securities are included in other income, net. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific-identification method. The amortized cost of securities is adjusted for accretion of premiums and amortization of discounts to maturity. In accordance with the Company’s investment policy, management invests in money market funds, corporate bonds, commercial paper, asset-backed securities and government securities. The Company has not realized any losses on its marketable securities to date. When the fair value is below the amortized cost of a marketable security, an estimate of expected credit losses is made. The credit-related impairment amount is recognized in the consolidated statements of operations. Credit losses are recognized through the use of an allowance for credit losses account in the consolidated balance sheet and subsequent improvements in expected credit losses are recognized as a reversal of an amount in the allowance account. If the Company has the intent to sell the security or it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis, then the allowance for the credit loss is written-off and the excess of the amortized cost basis of the asset over its fair value is recorded in the consolidated statements of operations. There were no credit losses recorded during the years ended December 31, 2023 or 2022. Comprehensive Income (Loss) The Company’s only element of other comprehensive income (loss) is unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale marketable securities. Patent Costs The legal and professional costs incurred by the Company to maintain its patent rights have been expensed as part of general and administrative expenses. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company has determined that these expenses have not met the criteria to be capitalized. Intellectual property-related expenses for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 were $0.2 million and $0.3 million, respectively. Research and Development Costs Research and development costs consist of salaries and benefits, including associated stock-based compensation, and fees paid to other entities that conduct certain research and development activities on the Company’s behalf. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. The Company estimates preclinical study and clinical trial expenses based on the services performed pursuant to contracts with research institutions and contract research organizations and clinical manufacturing organizations that conduct and manage preclinical studies and clinical trials on the Company’s behalf based on actual time and expenses incurred by them. Further, the Company accrues expenses related to clinical trials based on the level of patient activity according to the related agreement. The Company monitors patient enrollment levels and related activity to the extent reasonably possible and adjusts estimates accordingly. The Company accounts for nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities as expenses when the services have been performed or when the goods have been received rather than when the payment is made. Although the Company does not expect its estimates to be materially different from amounts actually incurred, its understanding of the status and timing of services performed relative to the actual status and timing of services performed may vary and may result in reporting amounts that are too high or too low in any particular period. To date, there have not been any material adjustments to the Company’s prior estimates of accrued research and development expenses. Stock-Based Compensation The Company measures stock-based compensation cost at the accounting measurement date based on the fair value of the award and recognizes the expense on a straight-line basis over the requisite service period of the award, which is typically the vesting period. Compensation expense is measured using the fair value of the award at the grant date and is adjusted to reflect actual forfeitures as they occur. The Company estimates the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model that takes into account the exercise price, the fair value of the Company’s common stock, the expected term of the option, the expected volatility of the Company’s common stock, expected dividends on the Company’s common stock, and the risk-free interest rate over the expected life of the option. Fair value of common stock—Upon IPO, the fair value of the Company’s common stock is determined based on the quoted market price of its common stock. Expected term—The Company uses the simplified method described in the Securities and Exchange Commission Staff Accounting Bulletin Topic 14.D.2 to calculate the expected term as it does not have sufficient historical exercise data to provide a reasonable basis upon which to estimate the expected term for options granted to employees. Expected volatility—The Company estimates expected volatility based on the historical volatility of publicly traded peer companies and expects to continue to do so until such time as it has adequate historical data regarding the volatility of its traded stock price. Risk-free interest rate—The risk-free rate assumption is based on the U.S. Treasury yield curves whose terms are consistent with the expected term of the stock options. Expected dividend—The Company has not issued any dividends and does not expect to issue dividends over the life of the options. As a result, the Company has estimated the dividend yield to be zero. The Company measures compensation expense for restricted stock units based on the fair value on the date of grant using the market value of the Company’s common stock. The Company classifies stock-based compensation expense in its consolidated statements of operations in the same manner in which the award recipient’s payroll costs or service payments are classified. Net Loss per Common Share Basic net loss per share is computed using the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net loss per share is computed using the sum of the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period and the effect of dilutive securities. The Company applies the two-class method to calculate its basic and diluted net loss per share as the Company has issued shares that meet the definition of participating securities. The two-class method is an earnings allocation formula that treats a participating security as having rights to earnings that otherwise would have been available to common stockholders. The Company’s participating securities contractually entitle the holders of such shares to participate in dividends; but do not contractually require the holders of such shares to participate in losses of the Company. Accordingly, in periods in which the Company reports a net loss, diluted net loss per share is the same as basic net loss per share, since dilutive common shares are not assumed to have been issued if their effect is anti-dilutive. Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or in the Company’s tax returns. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined on the basis of the differences between the consolidated financial statements and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. Changes in deferred tax assets and liabilities are recorded in the provision for income taxes. The Company assesses the likelihood that its deferred tax assets will be recovered from future taxable income and, to the extent it believes, based upon the weight of available evidence, that it is more likely than not that all or a portion of the deferred tax assets will not be realized, a valuation allowance is established through a charge to income tax expense. The Company accounts for uncertainty in income taxes recognized. If the tax position is deemed more likely than not to be sustained, it would then be assessed to determine the amount of benefit to recognize in the consolidated financial statements. The amount of the benefit that may be recognized is the largest amount that has a greater than 50% likelihood of being realized upon ultimate settlement. To date the Company has no uncertain tax positions and there have been no interest and penalties. Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements In November 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-07, Segment Reporting (Topic 280): Improvements to Reportable Segment Disclosures, which requires public entities to disclose information about their reportable segments’ significant expenses and other segment items on an interim and annual basis. Public entities with a single reportable segment are required to apply the disclosure requirements in ASU 2023-07, as well as all existing segment disclosures and reconciliation requirements in ASC 280 on an interim and annual basis. ASU 2023-07 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2023, and for interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the adoption of this guidance. In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU 2023-09, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures, which requires public entities, on an annual basis, to provide disclosure of specific categories in the rate reconciliation, as well as disclosure of income taxes paid disaggregated by jurisdiction. ASU 2023-09 is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2024, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently assessing the impact of the adoption of this guidance.
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