Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

 

(a)Basis of presentation

 

The condensed consolidated interim financial statements of Adaptimmune Therapeutics plc and its subsidiaries and other financial information included in this Quarterly Report are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”) and are presented in U.S. dollars.  All significant intercompany accounts and transactions between the Company and its subsidiaries have been eliminated on consolidation.

 

The unaudited condensed interim financial statements presented in this Quarterly Report should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K filed with the SEC on March 15, 2018 (the “Annual Report”).  The balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 was derived from audited consolidated financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report but does not include all disclosures required by U.S. GAAP. The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 2 to those consolidated financial statements.

 

Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with U.S. GAAP have been condensed or omitted from these interim financial statements.  However, these interim financial statements include all adjustments, consisting only of normal recurring adjustments, which are, in the opinion of management, necessary to fairly state the results of the interim period.  The interim results are not necessarily indicative of results to be expected for the full year.

 

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted new guidance on revenue recognition, which has been codified within Accounting Standard Codification Topic 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASC 606”).  The comparative financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and as of December 31, 2017 has not been restated.

 

(b)Use of estimates in interim financial statements

 

The preparation of interim financial statements, in conformity with U.S. GAAP and SEC regulations, requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates and assumptions are primarily made in relation to the valuation of share options, valuation allowances relating to deferred tax assets, revenue recognition, estimating clinical trial expenses and estimating reimbursements from R&D tax and expenditure credits. If actual results differ from the Company’s estimates, or to the extent these estimates are adjusted in future periods, the Company’s results of operations could either benefit from, or be adversely affected by, any such change in estimate.

 

(c)Fair value measurements

 

The Company is required to disclose information on all assets and liabilities reported at fair value that enables an assessment of the inputs used in determining the reported fair values. The fair value hierarchy prioritizes valuation inputs based on the observable nature of those inputs. The hierarchy defines three levels of valuation inputs:

 

Level 1 — Quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities

 

Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly

 

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that reflect the Company’s own assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability

 

The carrying amounts of the Company’s cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments.  The fair value of marketable securities, which are measured at fair value on a recurring basis is detailed in Note 6, Fair value measurements.

 

(d)Revenue from contracts with customers

 

On January 1, 2018, the Company adopted new guidance on revenue recognition, which has been codified within ASC 606.  The accounting policy applicable from January 1, 2018 is described below and further details on the transition is available in Note 2(e).  The comparative financial information for the three months ended March 31, 2017 and as of December 31, 2017 has not been restated and is prepared in accordance with the accounting policies that are described in Note 2 to the consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report.

 

The Company has one contract with a customer, which is the GSK Collaboration and License Agreement.  The GSK Collaboration and License Agreement consists of multiple performance obligations, including the transition of the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program to GSK, the development of a second target, PRAME, and an exclusive license to research, develop, and commercialize the Company’s NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy program.

 

The aggregate transaction price consists of an upfront payment of $42,123,000 received in June 2014, development milestones achieved of $53,433,000, an option exercise fee of $26,610,000, which was received in September 2017 and an estimate of variable consideration of $20,039,000.  The variable consideration relates to further milestone payments, which the Company is entitled to upon achievement of development milestones, and the remaining option exercise fee of approximately $14,032,000 which is expected to be received upon successful transition of the NY-ESO program to GSK.  The Company determines the variable consideration to be included in the transaction price by estimating the most-likely amount that will be received and then applies a constraint to reduce the consideration to the amount which is probable of being received.   The determination of whether a milestone is probable includes consideration of the following factors:

 

 

 

 

 

The payments to the Company under the contract are typically due upon achievement of milestones and within standard payment terms (approximating to 45 days).  The contract does not include a significant financing component.

 

The upfront payment of $42,123,000 was allocated between the performance obligations using the Company’s best estimate of the relative selling price. In determining the best estimate, the Company considered internal pricing objectives it used in negotiating the contract, together with internal data regarding the cost and margin of providing services for each deliverable taking into account the different stage of development of each development program included in the contract. The variable consideration is allocated to the performance obligation to which it relates.

 

The amount of the transaction price allocated to the performance obligation is recognized as or when the Company satisfies the performance obligation.  The Company satisfies the performance obligations relating to the transition of the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program and the development of a second target, PRAME, over time and recognizes revenue based on an estimate of the percentage of completion of the project determined based on the costs incurred on the project as a percentage of the total expected costs.  The Company considers that this depicts the progress of the project, where the significant inputs are internal project resource and third-party clinical and manufacturing costs.  The determination of the percentage of completion requires the Company to estimate the costs-to-complete the project.  The Company makes a detailed estimate of the costs-to-complete on an annual basis as part of the Company’s budgeting process, which is re-assessed every reporting period based on the latest project plan and discussions with project teams.  If a change in facts or circumstances occurs, the estimated is adjusted and the revenue is recognized based on the revised estimate. The difference between the cumulative revenue recognized based on the previous estimate and the revenue recognized based on the revised estimate is recognized as an adjustment to revenue in the period in which the change in estimate occurs.

 

The Company has determined that the performance obligation relating to the exclusive license to research, develop, and commercialize the Company’s NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell therapy program is recognized at a point-in-time, upon commencement of the license, which occurs once transition of the NY-ESO program is completed and all amounts due under the agreement are paid.

 

The Company recognizes a contract asset, when the value of satisfied (or part satisfied) performance obligations is in excess of the payment due to the Company, and deferred revenue (contract liability) when the amount of unconditional consideration is in excess of the value of satisfied (or part satisfied) performance obligations.  Once a right to receive consideration is unconditional, that amount is presented as a receivable.

 

The timing and amount of milestone payments for the development and transition of the NY-ESO SPEAR T-cell program are intended to be commensurate with the cost and effort involved in achieving the milestones and therefore a contract asset would typically arise.  However, the Company received $26,610,000 of the option exercise fee in September 2017, with the remaining amount of approximately $14,032,000 payable upon transition of the program to GSK in 2018, and associated revenue will be recognized upon commencement of the license, which occurs upon payment of the remaining option exercise fee, resulting in deferred revenue.

 

Changes in deferred revenue typically arise due to:

 

 

 

 

 

A change in the estimate of variable consideration constrained (for example, if a development milestone becomes probable of being received) could result in a significant change in the revenue recognized and deferred revenue.

 

(e)New accounting pronouncements

 

Adopted in the period

 

Revenue from Contracts with Customers

 

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09 - Revenue from Contracts with Customers (“ASU 2014-09”) which requires a new approach to revenue recognition and, in March, April, May and December 2016, the FASB issued additional clarification related to this guidance. This guidance has been codified within ASC 606. 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 in exchange for those goods or services. To achieve that core principle, an entity should apply the following steps:

 

Step 1: Identify the contract(s) with a 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 (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation.

 

The Company has adopted the guidance using the modified retrospective approach, with the cumulative effect of initially applying the guidance recognized as an adjustment to the opening balance of equity at January 1, 2018. Therefore, the comparative information has not been adjusted and continues to be reported under previous guidance. The quantitative impact of the changes on the statement of operations for the three months ended March 31, 2018 are set out below (in thousands):

 

 

The quantitative impact of the changes on the balance sheet as of March 31, 2018 are set out below (in thousands):

 

 

The quantitative impact of the changes on the statement of cashflows for the three months ended March 31, 2018 are set out below (in thousands):

 

 

The adoption of ASC 606 has not impacted net loss per share.

 

The cumulative effect of adopting the guidance on our financial statements at January 1, 2018 is a credit to opening accumulated losses and corresponding decrease in deferred revenue of $8.6 million.

 

The adoption of ASC 606 has had a material impact on the Company’s financial statements due to the following:

 

 

 

The Company has applied the practical expedient for contracts that were modified before the adoption of ASU 2014-09, which permits entities to not retrospectively restate the contract for those contract modifications. Instead, the aggregate effect of all modifications that occurred before the adoption date has been reflected when:

 

a. Identifying the satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations

 

b. Determining the transaction price

 

c. Allocating the transaction price to the satisfied and unsatisfied performance obligations.

 

ASC 606 requires an entity to provide financial statement users with sufficient information to understand the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from contracts with customers. To help achieve this objective, ASC 606 requires certain quantitative and qualitative disclosures included within Note 2(d) and Note 3, which are more extensive than the previously required revenue disclosures.

 

Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities

 

The Company has adopted ASU 2016-01 - Financial Instruments - Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities, which amended the guidance on the recognition and measurement of financial assets and financial liabilities.  The new guidance requires that equity investments (except those accounted for under the equity method of accounting, or those that result in consolidation of the investee) are measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in net income.  The guidance also requires the use of an exit price when measuring the fair value of financial instruments for disclosure purposes, eliminates the requirement to disclose the methods and significant assumptions used to estimate the fair value that is required to be disclosed for financial instruments measured at amortized cost and requires separate presentation of financial assets and financial liabilities by measurement category and form of financial asset.  The guidance did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.

 

To be adopted in future periods

 

Accounting for Leases

 

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02 - Leases.  The guidance requires that lessees recognize 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 at the commencement date.  The guidance also makes targeted improvements to align lessor accounting with the lessee accounting model and guidance on revenue from contracts with customers.  The guidance is effective for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2019, including interim periods within that fiscal year. Early application is permitted.  The guidance must be adopted on a modified retrospective transition approach for leases existing, or entered into after, the beginning of the earliest comparative period presented in the financial statements.  The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

 

Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments

 

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13 — Financial Instruments — Credit losses, which replaces the incurred loss impairment methodology for financial instruments in current GAAP with a methodology that reflects expected credit losses and requires consideration of a broader range of reasonable and supportable information to inform credit loss estimates. The guidance is effective for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2020, including interim periods within that fiscal year.  Early application is permitted for the fiscal year beginning January 1, 2019, including interim periods within that fiscal year. The guidance must be adopted using a modified-retrospective approach and a prospective transition approach is required for debt securities for which an other-than-temporary impairment had been recognized before the effective date. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

 

(f)Related parties

 

In the three months ended March 31, 2017, research and development expenses includes purchases of $536,000 from Immunocore Ltd (“Immuncore”).  As described in Note 2(w) to the consolidated financial statements included in the Annual Report, the Company no longer considered Immunocore to be a related party with effect from January 1, 2018.