Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies

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Note 2 - Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Notes to Financial Statements  
Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]
2.
Significant accounting policies
 
(a)
Basis of consolidation:
 
These consolidated financial statements include the accounts of its subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions, balances, revenue and expenses are eliminated on consolidation.
 
(b)
Basis of presentation:
 
These consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States, or GAAP and the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, related to annual reports filed on Form
10
-K. The functional and presentation currency of the Company is the US dollar.
 
(c)
Significant accounting policies, estimates and judgments:
 
The preparation of the consolidated financial statements requires management to make judgments, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of accounting policies and reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting period. Actual outcomes could differ from those estimates. The consolidated financial statements include estimates, which, by their nature, are uncertain.
 
The impacts of such estimates are pervasive throughout the consolidated financial statements and
may
require accounting adjustments based on future occurrences.
 
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on a regular basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognized in the period in which the estimate is revised and in any future periods affected.
 
(d)
Leases
 
Effective
January 1, 2019,
the Company adopted Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, standard ASU
No.
2016
-
02,
“Leases (Topic
842
)”. The Company’s operating leases of tangible property with terms greater than
twelve
months are recognized as right of use assets, which represents the lessee’s right to use, or control the use of, a specified asset for the lease term, and a corresponding lease liability, which represents the lessee’s obligation to make lease payments under a lease, measured on a discounted basis. The Company adopted the new standard using the alternative transition method, which permits a company to use its effective date as the date of initial application without restating comparative period financial statements. Landlord inducements in the form of free rent periods are netted against lease payments to the landlord in measuring right-of-use assets and lease liabilities.
 
Impact of adoption:
 
As a result of adopting Topic
842,
we recorded as of
January 1, 2019,
a right of use asset of approximately
$1.570
million, and a lease liability of approximately
$1.647
million. Upon adoption, landlord inducements of approximately
$78
thousand were de-recognized, and a corresponding adjustment was made to right-of-use assets.
 
(e)
Cash and cash equivalents:
 
Cash and cash equivalents are short-term highly liquid investments with original maturities of
90
days or less as at the date of purchase. Cash equivalents are accounted for on amortized cost basis, which approximates its fair value due to their short-term maturities.
 
(f)
Investments:
 
Investments consist of time deposits with original maturities greater than
90
days are classified by management as securities available-for-sale. These available-for-sale securities are recorded at estimated fair values. Unrealized gains and losses on these investments are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (AOCI) in shareholder’s equity. Realized gains and losses and declines in value that are judged to be other than temporary are included in interest income.
 
(g)
Concentration of risk:
 
The Company is subject to credit risk from the Company’s cash and cash equivalents and investments. The carrying amount of the financial assets represents the maximum credit exposure. The Company manages credit risk associated with its cash and cash equivalents and investments by maintaining minimum standards of
R1
-low or A-low investments and the Company invests only in highly rated Canadian corporations which are capable of prompt liquidation.
 
(h)
Property and equipment:
 
Property and equipment is measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Cost includes expenditures that are directly attributable to the acquisition of the asset. The Company records depreciation at rates that charge operations with the cost of the assets over their estimated useful lives on a straight-line basis as follows:
 
Office furniture (years)    
5
 
Laboratory equipment (years)    
5
 
Computer hardware (years)    
3
 
Computer software (years)    
3
 
Leasehold improvements    
Life of lease
 
 
The residual value, useful life and methods of depreciation of the assets are reviewed at each reporting period and adjusted prospectively if appropriate.
 
(i)
Research and development:
 
Research and development (R&D) costs are expensed as incurred. R&D costs consist primarily of salaries and benefits, stock-based compensation, manufacturing, contract services, clinical trials, intangibles, and research related overhead. Non-refundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research are recorded in prepaid and other assets and are expensed when the services are performed.
 
(j)
Fair value:
 
The Company measures its financial assets and liabilities at fair value. The carrying amounts for the Company’s financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, accounts payable and accrued liabilities approximate their fair value due to their short maturities. Fair value is the price 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.
 
(k)
Stock-based compensation:
 
The Company has a stock-based compensation plan (the “Plan”) available to officers, directors, employees and consultants with grants under the Plan approved by the Company’s Board of Directors. Under the Plan, the exercise price of each option equals the closing trading price of the Company’s stock on the day prior to the grant if the grant is made during the trading day or the closing trading price on the day of grant if the grant is issued after markets have closed. Vesting is provided for at the discretion of the Board of Directors and the expiration of options is to be
no
greater than
10
years from the date of grant.
 
The Company uses the fair value based method of accounting for employee awards granted under the Plan. The Company calculates the fair value of each stock option grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model at the grant date. The stock-based compensation cost of the options is recognized as stock-based compensation expense over the relevant vesting period of the stock options using an estimate of the number of options that will eventually vest.
 
Stock options awarded to non-employees are accounted for at the fair value of the goods received or the services rendered. The fair value is measured at the grant date. In
June 2018,
FASB issued accounting standards update
No
2018
-
07,
Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The amendment establishes that nonemployee share-based payment awards within the scope of Topic
718
be measured at grant-date fair value of the equity instruments issued. The amendments are effective for fiscal years beginning after
December 15, 2018.
Early adoption is permitted and the Company elected to early adopt this policy. The early adoption did
not
result in any changes in retained earnings or other components of equity as the accounting.
 
The Company has a stock incentive plan pursuant to which the Board
may
grant stock-based awards comprised of restricted stock units or dividend equivalents to employees, officers, consultants, independent contractors, advisors and non-employee directors of the Company. Compensation cost for restricted share units is measured at fair value at the date of grant, which is the market price of the underlying security, and is expensed over the award’s vesting period on a straight-line basis using an estimate of the number of awards that will eventually vest.
 
(l)
Segment reporting:
 
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, or CODM. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer serves as its CODM. The Company views its operations and manages its business as 
one
 segment, which is the discovery and development of personalized therapies addressing unmet medical needs in oncology. The Company operates primarily in the US.
 
(m)
Loss per share:
 
Basic loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss available to common shareholders by the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the year. Diluted loss per share is computed similarly to basic loss per share except that the weighted average share outstanding is increased to include additional shares for the assumed exercise of stock options and warrants, if dilutive. The number of additional shares is calculated by assuming that outstanding stock options and warrants were exercised and that the proceeds from such exercises were used to acquire common stock at the average market price during the year. The inclusion of the Company’s stock options and warrants in the computation of diluted loss per share has an anti-dilutive effect on the loss per share and, therefore, they have been excluded from the calculation of diluted loss per share.
 
(n)
Income taxes:
 
The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax consequences attributable to differences between financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted rates in effect for the year in which these temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. Valuation allowances are provided if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than 
not
 that some or all of the deferred tax assets will 
not
 be realized.
 
The Company provides reserves for potential payments of tax to various tax authorities related to uncertain tax positions and other issues. Reserves are based on a determination of whether and how much of a tax benefit taken by the Company in its tax filing is more likely than 
not
 to be realized following resolution of any potential contingencies present related to the tax benefit. Potential interest and penalties associated with such uncertain tax positions are recorded as components of income tax expense. As at
December 31, 2019
and
December 31, 2018,
the Company has
not
recorded any reserves for potential payments as the Company has a history of losses and does
not
have any revenue from operations.