0001564590-21-008422 | 10-K | XBRL Viewer

Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation

1. Nature of Business and Organization

Altimmune, Inc., headquartered in Gaithersburg, Maryland, United States, together with its subsidiaries (collectively, the “Company” or “Altimmune”) is a clinical stage biopharmaceutical company incorporated under the laws of the State of Delaware.

The Company is focused on developing intranasal vaccines, immune modulating therapies and treatments for liver disease. The Company’s diverse pipeline includes proprietary intranasal vaccines for COVID-19 (AdCOVID), anthrax (NasoShield) and influenza (NasoVAX); an intranasal immune modulating therapeutic for COVID-19 (T-COVID); and next generation peptide therapeutics for NASH (ALT-801) and chronic hepatitis B (HepTcell). The Company has not generated any revenues from the sale of any products to date, and there is no assurance of any future revenues from product sales.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements are prepared in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States (“U.S. GAAP”) and in accordance with the rules and regulations of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries. All significant intercompany accounts and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenue and expenses, and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of and during the reporting period. The Company bases estimates and assumptions on historical experience when available and on various factors that it believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. Significant estimates relied upon in preparing the accompanying consolidated financial statements were related to revenue recognition, the fair value of common stock and other equity instruments, accounting for stock-based compensation, income taxes, useful lives of long-lived assets, fair value of contingent consideration, impairment of long-lived assets, and accounting for project development and certain accruals. The Company assesses the above estimates on an ongoing basis; however, actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Comprehensive Loss

For the years presented, the total comprehensive loss includes net loss and other comprehensive income (loss) which represents unrealized gains or losses on investments.

Segment

The Company is managed and operates as a single business focused on the research and development of immunotherapies and vaccines. The Company is managed by a single management team, and consistent with its organizational structure, the Chief Executive Officer manages and allocates resources at a consolidated level. Accordingly, the Company views its business as one operating segment.

Short-term Investments

The Company’s short-term investments are comprised of U.S. Treasury, corporate debt securities and certificate of deposit that have original maturities less than or equal to one year and are classified as available-for-sale securities. Such securities are carried at estimated fair value, with any unrealized holding gains or losses reported as accumulated other comprehensive income or loss, which is a separate component of stockholders’ equity. Realized gains and losses and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary, if any, are included in other income in the consolidated results of operations. The Company reviews its investment portfolio for impairment quarterly or more frequently if circumstances warrant. In determining whether a decline in the value of an investment is other-than-temporary, the Company evaluates currently available factors that may include, among others: (1) general market conditions; (2) the duration and extent to which fair value has been less than the carrying value; (3) the investment issuer's financial condition and business outlook; and (4) its assessment as to whether it is more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell a security prior to recovery of its amortized cost basis. A decline in the market value of any available-for-sale security below cost that is deemed to be other-than-temporary results in a reduction in fair value charged to earnings in that period, and a new cost basis for the security is established. Dividend and interest income are recognized in other income when earned. The cost of securities sold is calculated using the specific identification method. The Company places all investments with government agencies, or corporate institutions whose debt is rated as investment grade.

Intangible Assets

Intangible assets acquired in a business combination consist primarily of in-process research and development (“IPR&D”) assets. The value attributable to IPR&D projects at the time of acquisition is capitalized as an indefinite-lived intangible asset and tested for impairment until the project is completed or abandoned. Upon completion of the project, the indefinite-lived intangible asset will be accounted for as a finite-lived intangible asset and amortized on a straight-line basis over its estimated useful life. If the project is abandoned, the indefinite-lived intangible asset will be charged to expense. Intangible assets, including patents and licenses, acquired in other transactions are recorded at cost. Intangible assets with finite useful lives consist of legal costs incurred in the course of obtaining patents and license issuance fees for the use of proprietary technologies. Costs incurred for obtaining patents are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets from the time of approval of the patent. Prior to approval, these costs are carried on the balance sheets and not amortized. In the event approval is denied, the cost of the denied application is expensed. License issuance fees are amortized on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the underlying licensed technology. Intangible assets with finite useful lives are being amortized over 6 to 20 years. These amortization costs are classified as research and development expenses in the accompanying statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

The Company evaluates its long-lived tangible and intangible assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Impairment of long-lived assets other than goodwill and indefinite lived intangibles is assessed by comparing the undiscounted cash flows expected to be generated by the asset group to its carrying value.

As mentioned above, the Company’s IPR&D assets are currently non-amortizing. Until such time as the projects are either completed or abandoned, the Company test those assets for impairment at least annually at year end, or more frequently at interim periods, by evaluating qualitative factors which could be indicative of impairment. Qualitative factors being considered include, but are not limited to, the current project status, forecasted changes in the timing or amounts required to complete the project, forecasted changes in timing or changes in the future cash flows to be generated by the completed products, a probability of success of the ultimate project and changes to other market-based assumptions, such as discount rates. If impairment indicators are present as a result of the Company’s qualitative assessment, the Company will test those assets for impairment by comparing the fair value of the assets to their carrying value. Upon completion or abandonment, the value of the IPR&D assets will be amortized to expense over the anticipated useful life of the developed products, if completed, or charged to expense when abandoned if no alternative future use exists.

The Company has one IPR&D asset, HepTcell, that was acquired in 2015. The Company performed a qualitative assessment for the IPR&D impairment testing for 2020 and determined that no impairment indicators were present. During the third quarter of 2019, the Company abandoned its SparVax-L asset and recorded $1.0 million of impairment to fully write-off the balance of this IPR&D asset. See Note 5 for further details. The Company performed a quantitative assessment for the HepTcell IPR&D impairment test during 2019 and determined that there was no impairment.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company records certain financial assets and liabilities at fair value in accordance with the guidance in Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standard Codification (“ASC”) 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures, which defines fair value and establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurements) and the lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurements). The three levels of the fair value hierarchy are described below:

Level 1 — Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company can access at the measurement date.

Level 2 — Inputs other than quoted prices included within Level 1 that are either directly or indirectly observable. If the asset or liability has a specified (contractual) term, a Level 2 input must be observable for substantially the full term.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs developed using estimates of assumptions developed by the Company, which reflect those that a market participant would use.

To the extent that valuation is based on models or inputs that are less observable or unobservable in the market, the determination of fair value requires more judgment. Accordingly, the degree of judgment exercised by the Company in determining fair value is greatest for instruments categorized in Level 3. A financial instrument’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of any input that is significant to the fair value measurement.

Fair value is a market-based measure considered from the perspective of a market participant rather than an entity-specific measure. Therefore, even when market assumptions are not readily available, the Company’s own assumptions are set to reflect those that market participants would use in pricing the asset or liability at the measurement date. The Company uses prices and inputs that are current as of the measurement date, including during periods of market dislocation. In periods of market dislocation, the observability of prices and inputs may change for many instruments. This condition could cause an instrument to be reclassified within levels in the fair value hierarchy. There were no transfers within the fair value hierarchy during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Financial Instruments

The Company’s financial instruments consist of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, short-term investments, notes payable, accounts payable, accrued expenses, contingent consideration, common stock warrants classified as a liability, and common stock warrants classified as equity. The carrying amounts of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, accounts payable, and accrued expenses approximate their fair value due to the short-term nature of those financial instruments. Short-term investments are recorded at fair value, with any unrealized holding gains or losses reported as accumulated other comprehensive income or loss. Notes payable, prior to their redemption or cancellation, are recorded at their repayment value which approximates fair value. Contingent payments classified as a liability are recorded at fair value estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation valuation model. Common stock warrants classified as equity is initially recorded at their grant date fair value. For those warrants with a down round feature, if the down round feature is triggered, the Company would remeasure those instruments at that time with changes recorded as a deemed dividend all within equity. Common stock warrants classified as a liability are recorded at fair value and are remeasured every reporting period with the changes in fair value recorded as a component of other income (expenses), net until their settlement or exercise.

Revenue

Our revenue consists primarily of government and foundation grants and contracts that support the Company’s efforts on specific research projects. The Company has determined that the government agencies and foundations providing grants and contracts to the Company are not customers. These grants and contracts generally provide for reimbursement of approved costs as those costs are incurred by the Company. Research grants and contracts and the related accounts receivable are recognized as earned in proportion to when reimbursable expenses are incurred in performance of the contract. Payments received in advance of services being provided are recorded as deferred revenue.

Research and Development

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Research and development costs consist of payroll and personnel expense, consulting costs, external contract research and development expenses, which includes fees paid to other entities that conduct certain research and development activities on the Company’s behalf, such as clinical research organizations (“CROs”) and contract manufacturing organizations (“CMOs”), raw materials, drug product manufacturing costs, laboratory supplies and allocated overhead, including depreciation and amortization, rent and utilities. Material research and development costs that are paid in advance of performance are capitalized as a prepaid expense and amortized over the service period as the services are provided.

Clinical trial costs are a significant component of research and development expenses, and the Company outsources a significant portion of these costs to third parties. Third party clinical trial expenses include investigator fees, site and patient costs, CRO costs, costs for central laboratory testing, data management and CMO costs. The accrual for site and patient costs includes inputs such as estimates of patient enrollment, patient cycles incurred, clinical site activations, and other pass-through costs. These inputs are required to be estimated due to a lag in receiving the actual clinical information from third parties. Payments for these activities are based on the terms of the individual arrangements, which may differ from the pattern of costs incurred, and are reflected on the consolidated balance sheets as a prepaid asset or accrued expenses. These third-party agreements are generally cancelable, and related costs are recorded as research and development expenses as incurred. Material advance payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are recorded as a prepaid asset and recognized as expense as the related goods are delivered or the related services are performed. When evaluating the adequacy of the accrued expenses, the Company analyze progress of the studies, including the phase or completion of events, invoices received and contracted costs. Significant judgments and estimates may be made in determining the accrued balances at the end of any reporting period.

Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with remaining maturities of 90 days or less on the purchase date to be cash equivalents, and include amounts held in money market funds which are actively traded (a Level 1 input).

Restricted Cash

The Company had restricted cash of $34,174 at both December 31, 2020 and 2019, held in money market savings accounts as collateral. The restricted cash as of December 31, 2020 and 2019 is for the Company’s facility lease obligation. Restricted cash is classified as a component of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets and consolidated statements of cash flows.

Accounts Receivable

Accounts receivable includes both billed and unbilled amounts. The Company makes judgments as to its ability to collect outstanding receivables and provides an allowance for receivables when collection becomes doubtful. Provisions are made based upon a specific review of all significant outstanding invoices and the overall quality and age of those invoices not specifically reviewed. The Company’s receivables represent amounts reimbursed under its government grants and contracts. The Company believes that credit risks associated with these government grants and contracts is not significant. To date, the Company has not experienced any losses associated with accounts receivable and does not maintain an allowance for doubtful accounts.

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash, and accounts receivable. Periodically, the Company maintains deposits in financial institutions in excess of government insured limits. Management believes that the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk as the Company’s deposits are held at financial institutions that management believes to be of high credit quality. The Company has not experienced any losses in these deposits. The Company recognizes research grants and contracts earned in connection with the services provided on research and development projects. The Company provides credit in the normal course of providing such services based on evaluations of the grantors’ financial condition and generally does not require collateral. To manage accounts receivable credit risk, the Company monitors the creditworthiness of its grantors. The U.S. government accounts for 97% and 95% of revenue for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. The U.S. government accounts for 100% of accounts receivable for both the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019.

Property and Equipment, Net

The Company records property and equipment at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Expenditures for maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred, whereas major improvements are capitalized as additions to property and equipment. Costs of assets under construction are capitalized but are not depreciated until the construction is substantially complete and the assets being constructed are ready for their intended use.

Depreciation and amortization are recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:

Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Computer and telecommunications		3 – 5 years
Software		3 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 years
Laboratory equipment		7 years
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term or estimated useful lives

Warrants

Common stock warrants issued in connection with the 2018 Unit Offering, the 2018 and 2019 Registered Direct Offerings, and the 2020 Public Offering (all terms defined in Note 10 and Note 11), were classified as a component of permanent equity because they are freestanding financial instruments that were legally detachable and separately exercisable from other debt and equity instruments, are contingently exercisable, do not embody an obligation for the Company to repurchase its shares, and permits the holders to receive a fixed number of common shares upon exercise. In addition, such warrants did not provide any guarantee of value or return. The 2018 Registered Direct Offering and 2019 Registered Direct Offering triggered down round adjustments to the exercise price of warrants issued in connection with the 2018 Unit Offering. In 2019, the Company treated the value of the effect of the reduction in exercise price as a deemed dividend, resulting in a reduction to income available to common shareholders (see Note 11). There was a reduction in exercise price in 2020 due to the At-the-Market Offering which triggered an anti-dilution provision under the warrant agreement with the Company’s holders of redeemable preferred stock (see Note 11).

Stock-based Compensation

The Company accounts for all stock-based compensation granted to employees and non-employees using a fair value method. Stock-based compensation awarded to employees is measured at the grant date fair value of stock option grants and is recognized over the requisite service period of the awards, usually the vesting period, on a straight-line basis, net of estimated forfeitures.

If awards are modified, the Company compares the fair value of the affected award measured immediately prior to modification to its value after modification. To the extent that the fair value of the modified award exceeds the original award, the incremental fair value of the modified award is recognized as compensation on the date of modification for vested awards, and over the remaining vesting period for unvested awards.

Income Taxes

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability approach, which requires the recognition of future tax benefits or liabilities on the temporary differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of our assets and liabilities. Deferred tax assets and liabilities represent future tax consequences of temporary differences between the financial statement carrying amounts and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and for loss carryforwards using enacted tax rates expected to be in effect in the years in which the differences reverse. A valuation allowance is established when necessary to reduce deferred tax assets to the amounts expected to be realized. The Company also recognizes a tax benefit from uncertain tax positions only if it is “more likely than not” that the position is sustainable based on its technical merits. The Company accounts for interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as part of its provision for income taxes. To date, the Company has not incurred interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions. Should such costs be incurred, they would be classified as a component of provision for income taxes.

Net Loss per Share

Basic net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period without consideration for potentially dilutive securities.

The Company computes diluted net loss per common share after giving consideration to all potentially dilutive common equivalents, including all unvested restricted stock, common stock warrants, and common stock options outstanding during the period except where the effect of such non-participating securities would be anti-dilutive.

Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average number of common shares and dilutive common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury-stock and if-converted methods.

Leases

The Company’s headquarters lease is the primary lease, accounted for as an operating lease under the new lease accounting guidance, which the Company adopted on January 1, 2019 under the prospective optional transition method. The Company elected the package of practical expedients permitted. Accordingly, the Company accounted for its existing operating leases as operating leases under the new guidance, without reassessing (a) whether the contracts contain a lease, (b) whether classification of the operating leases would be different in accordance, or (c) whether the unamortized initial direct costs before transition adjustments would have met the definition of initial direct costs at lease commencement. In addition, the Company does not allocate the consideration between lease and non-lease components.

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are recorded as a current and long-term lease obligation, with a corresponding right of use lease assets.

The lease obligations represent the Company’s obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. The right of use lease assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term. The lease obligations and the operating right of use lease assets are recognized at the commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. As most of the Company’s leases do not provide an implicit rate, the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at the commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The Company’s lease terms may include options to extend or terminate the lease when it is reasonably certain that the Company will exercise that option. Lease expense for lease payments is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Short-term leases are leases having a term of twelve months or less. The Company recognizes short-term leases on a straight-line basis and does not record a related lease asset or liability for such leases.

Lease incentives and allowance provided by our landlord for the construction of leasehold improvements are recorded as lease incentive obligations as the related construction costs are incurred, up to the maximum allowance.

Contingent Consideration

The Company records contingent consideration associated with development and regulatory milestones that meets the definition of a liability under ASC 480 at fair value. The fair value model used to calculate this obligation is based on the Monte Carlo simulation that has been risk adjusted based on the probability of achievement of the milestones. The inputs the Company uses for determining the fair value of the contingent consideration associated with development and regulatory milestones are Level 3 fair value measurements. The Company re-evaluates the fair value on a quarterly basis. Changes in the fair value can result from adjustments to the probability of achievement of the milestones, stock price, volatility and the risk-free interest rate.

The change in Company’s estimates associated with payments which will become due and payable for development and regulatory milestones will change the fair value of contingent consideration, resulting in a charge or contra expense to research and development expense in the period in which the increase or decrease is determined.

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted:

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820) – Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement (“ASU No. 2018-13”). ASU No. 2018-13 was issued to modify and enhance the disclosure requirements for fair value measurements and eliminates certain disclosure requirements, such as the amount of, and reasons for, transfers between Level 1 and Level 2 of the fair value hierarchy. This ASU adds new disclosure requirements for Level 3 measurements and is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019 and interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company adopted this guidance in the first quarter of 2020, which resulted in expanded disclosures in Note 3 regarding the Company’s recurring Level 3 fair value measurements.

Not Yet Adopted:

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-13, Financial Instruments – Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments (“ASU No. 2016-13”). ASU No. 2016-13 requires entities to measure all expected credit losses for financial assets held at the reporting date based on historical experience, current conditions and reasonable and supportable forecasts. This update also required enhanced disclosures to help financial statement users better understand significant estimates and judgments used in estimating credit losses, as well as the credit quality and underwriting standards of an entity’s portfolio. This standard is effective for the Company as a smaller reporting company beginning January 1, 2023. Adoption is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statement disclosure requirements.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740), Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes (“ASU No. 2019-12”). ASU 2019-12 amends the approaches and methodologies in accounting for income taxes during interim periods and makes changes to certain income tax classifications. The new standard allows exceptions to the use of the incremental approach for intra-period tax allocation, when there is a loss from continuing operations and income or a gain from other items, and to the general methodology for calculating income taxes in an interim period, when a year-to-date loss exceeds the anticipated loss for the year. The standard also requires franchise or similar taxes partially based on income to be reported as income tax and the effects of enacted changes in tax laws or rates to be included in the annual effective tax rate computation from the date of enactment. Lastly, in any future acquisition, the Company would be required to evaluate when the step-up in the tax basis of goodwill is part of the business combination and when it should be considered a separate transaction. The standard will be effective for the Company beginning January 1, 2021, with early adoption of the amendments permitted. Adoption is not expected to have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statement disclosure requirements.

Fair Value Measurement

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Fair Value Measurement

3. Fair Value Measurement

The Company records cash equivalents, short-term investments, contingent consideration, and warrant liability at fair value on a recurring basis. Fair value is an exit price, representing the amount that would be received from the sale of an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants based on assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability.

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 consisted of the following:

	Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2020
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash equivalents - money market funds	$	90,389,473	$	90,389,473	$	—	$	—
Short-term investments		100,005,558		—		100,005,558		—
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)		5,390,000		—		—		5,390,000
Warrant liability		10,000		—		—		10,000

The warranty liability is included in Other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2020.

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2019 consisted of the following:

	Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2019
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash equivalents — money market fund	$	8,034,640	$	8,034,640	$	—	$	—
Short-term investments		28,277,386		—		28,277,386		—
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)		2,750,000		—		—		2,750,000
Warrant liability		10,000		—		—		10,000

The warranty liability is included in Other long-term liabilities in the consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2019.

Short-term investments have been initially valued at the transaction price and subsequently valued, at the end of each reporting period, utilizing third party pricing services or other market observable data (Level 2). The pricing services utilize industry standard valuation models, including both income and market-based approaches and observable market inputs to determine value.

Short-term investments with quoted prices at December 31, 2020 as shown below:

	As of December 31, 2020
	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain			Market Value
United States treasury securities	$	20,052,757	$	1,843		$	20,054,600
Asset-backed and corporate debt securities		54,935,963		(6,197	)		54,929,766
Certificates of deposit		25,021,192		—			25,021,192
Total	$	100,009,912	$	(4,354	)	$	100,005,558

Short-term investments with quoted prices at December 31, 2019 as shown below:

	As of December 31, 2019
	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain		Market Value
United States treasury securities	$	3,394,579	$	3,228	$	3,397,807
Asset-backed and corporate debt securities		24,862,800		16,779		24,879,579
Total	$	28,257,379	$	20,007	$	28,277,386

The fair value of contingent payments classified as a liability is based on the regulatory milestones described in Note 8 and estimated using the Monte Carlo simulation valuation model with Level 3 inputs.

The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of contingent payments that were classified as a liability at December 31, 2020 include the following significant unobservable inputs:

Unobservable input	Value or Range	Weighted Average
Expected volatility	114.9%	114.9%
Risk-free interest rate	0.11%	0.11%
Cost of capital	30%	30%
Discount for lack of marketability	9%-15%	12%
Probability of payment	63%	63%
Projected year of payment	2022	2022

The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of contingent payments that were classified as a liability at December 31, 2019 include the following significant unobservable inputs:

Unobservable input	Value or Range	Weighted Average
Expected volatility	95.3%	95.3%
Risk-free interest rate	1.60%	1.60%
Cost of capital	30%	30%
Discount for lack of marketability	8%-12%	10%
Probability of payment	31%-50%	46%
Projected year of payment	2020-2022	2020

The Company’s warrant liability is valued using the Monte Carlo simulation valuation model with Level 3 inputs.

If applicable, the Company will recognize transfers into and out of levels within the fair value hierarchy at the end of the reporting period in which the actual event or change in circumstance occurs. There were no transfers into and out of any of the levels of the fair value hierarchy during 2020 or 2019.

Separate disclosure is required for assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis from those measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis. Assets recorded at fair value on a non-recurring basis, such as property and equipment and intangible assets are recognized at fair value when they are impaired. During the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company had no significant assets or liabilities that were measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recognized an intangible asset impairment (see Note 5) measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis.

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

Property and Equipment, Net

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Property and Equipment, Net

4. Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment, net consisted of the following:

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	125,538		$	121,491
Laboratory equipment		959,585			926,590
Computers and telecommunications		220,316			150,517
Software		64,409			25,069
Leasehold improvements		1,285,883			1,228,108
Property and equipment, at cost		2,655,731			2,451,775
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,598,811	)		(1,347,567	)
Property and equipment, net	$	1,056,920		$	1,104,208

Depreciation expense related to property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $251,244 and $239,821, respectively.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Intangible Assets

5. Intangible Assets

The Company’s intangible assets consisted of the following:

	December 31, 2020
	Estimated Useful Lives	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Impairment		Net Book Value
Internally developed patents	6 – 10 years	$	884,787	$	(479,908	)	$	—	$	404,879
Acquired licenses	16 – 20 years		285,000		(285,000	)		—		—
Total intangible assets subject to amortization			1,169,787		(764,908	)		—		404,879
IPR&D assets	Indefinite		12,418,967		—			—		12,418,967
Total		$	13,588,754	$	(764,908	)	$	—	$	12,823,846

	December 31, 2019
	Estimated Useful Lives	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Impairment			Net Book Value
Internally developed patents	6 – 10 years	$	746,323	$	(448,874	)	$	—		$	297,449
Acquired licenses	16 – 20 years		285,000		(269,221	)		—			15,779
Total intangible assets subject to amortization			1,031,323		(718,095	)		—			313,228
IPR&D assets	Indefinite		13,418,967		—			(1,000,000	)		12,418,967
Total		$	14,450,290	$	(718,095	)	$	(1,000,000	)	$	12,732,195

Amortization expense of intangible assets subject to amortization totaled $46,813 and $147,500 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and was classified as research and development expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

As of December 31, 2020, future estimated amortization expense is as follows:

For the Year Ended December 31,
2021	$	26,561
2022		26,561
2023		26,561
2024		22,655
2025		17,187
2026 and thereafter		285,354
Total	$	404,879

The above future estimated amortization expense does not include potential amortization charges related to the remaining carrying value of IPR&D assets as of December 31, 2020. Those assets, which represent incomplete technologies, will be amortized to expense once the underlying technologies are substantially complete over their estimated useful lives, expected to be 15 to 18 years. In the event that in the future the Company ceases the development of these assets, the remaining carrying value would be written off at that time. IPR&D assets are periodically assessed for impairment by considering the state of completion of the projects, the remaining activities required to complete development, the anticipated market for the completed products, and anticipated future cash required to complete development.

There was no impairment loss during the year ended December 31, 2020. During 2019, as a result of the SparVax-L NIAID contract completion and the U.S. government’s funding prioritization of only single dose anthrax vaccine candidates, the Company abandoned the project and concluded that the full remaining net book value of the SparVax-L IPR&D asset was impaired. As a result, $1.0 million was written off as an impairment charge which was classified as a component of operating expenses during the year ended December 31, 2019.

Leases

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases [Abstract]

Leases

6. Leases

The Company rents office and laboratory space in the United States. The Company also leases office equipment under a non-cancellable equipment lease through December 2022. Rent expense during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 under all of the Company’s operating leases was $407,200 and $346,603, respectively, which includes short-term leases and variable lease costs not included in the lease obligation.

The office space lease provides for increases in future minimum annual rental payments as defined in the lease agreements. The office space lease also includes an option to renew the lease as of the end of the term. The Company has determined that the lease renewal option is not reasonably certain of being exercised.

The cash paid for operating lease liabilities for the year ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 was $391,090 and $380,805, respectively.

Supplemental balance sheet information related to the operating leases is as follows:

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Operating lease obligations (see Note 7 and 9)	$	1,824,840		$	1,744,128
Right of use asset	$	903,825		$	698,321
Weighted-average remaining lease term		4.33			5.33
Weighted-average discount rate		7.3	%		8.0	%

Maturities of operating lease liabilities are as follows:

Year ending December 31,
2021	$	475,372
2022		484,484
2023		493,868
2024		503,535
2025		168,929
Total operating lease payments		2,126,188
Less: imputed interest		(301,348	)
Total operating lease liabilities (see Note 7 and 9)	$	1,824,840

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

7. Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expense and other current liabilities consist of the following:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Accrued professional services	$	1,350,194	$	429,467
Accrued payroll and employee benefits		2,351,599		1,183,130
Accrued interest		13,016		5,047
Accrued research and development		7,316,876		1,966,111
Lease obligation, current portion (see Note 6)		356,716		259,449
Deferred revenue		19,753		61,563
Total accrued expenses	$	11,408,154	$	3,904,767

Contingent Consideration

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Contingent consideration

8. Contingent Consideration

The Company entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated July 8, 2019, by and among the Company, Springfield Merger Sub, Inc., Springfield Merger Sub, LLC, Spitfire Pharma, Inc. and David Collier, as the Stockholder Representative (the “Spitfire Merger Agreement”) to acquire all of the equity interests of Spitfire Pharma, Inc. (“Spitfire”). Spitfire was a privately held, preclinical pharmaceutical company developing a novel dual GLP-1/glucagon receptor agonist for the treatment of non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.

The transaction closed on July 12, 2019. The Company issued 1,887,250 unregistered shares of its common stock (the “shares”) as upfront consideration to certain former securityholders of Spitfire (collectively, the “Spitfire Equityholders”), representing an amount equal to $5.0 million less working capital and transaction expense adjustment amounts as defined in the agreement.

The acquisition of Spitfire was accounted for as an asset acquisition instead of a business combination because substantially all of the fair value of the gross assets acquired was concentrated in a single identifiable asset or group of similar identifiable assets, and therefore, the asset was not considered a business. The Company expensed the acquired intellectual property as of the acquisition date as in-process research and development with no alternative future uses. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company recorded an in-process research and development expense of $4.3 million for the upfront consideration, which included the fair value of the common stock transferred and net liabilities assumed. Transaction costs of $0.7 million was recorded within research and development expense on the Company’s consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss during the year ended December 31, 2019.

The Spitfire Merger Agreement also includes future contingent payments up to $88.0 million in cash and shares of the Company’s common stock as follows (each, a “Milestone Event”):

•

a one-time payment of $5.0 million (the “IND Milestone Consideration Amount”) within sixty days of the submission of an Investigational New Drug Application (“IND”) to the United States Food and Drug Administration (the “FDA”) or other applicable governmental authority in a foreign jurisdiction, which IND has not been rejected or placed on clinical hold by the FDA or such applicable foreign governmental authority within time specified in the Spitfire Merger Agreement;

•

a one-time payment of $3.0 million (the “Phase 2 Milestone Consideration Amount” and together with the IND Milestone Consideration Amount, the “Regulatory Milestones”) within sixty days of the initiation of a human clinical trial of a product candidate anywhere in the world; and

•

payments of up to $80.0 million upon the achievement of specified worldwide net sales (the “Sales Milestones”) of all products developed using the technology acquired in the License Agreement within ten years following the approval of a new drug application filed with the FDA.

The Regulatory Milestones will be payable in shares of the Company’s Common Stock, with the number of shares of the Company’s Common Stock to be issued in connection with each milestone amount, if any, are dependent on the share price at the time of achievement. The number of any shares issued in consideration for the IND Milestone Consideration Amount will be determined based on lower of (A) the average of the closing prices of our Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market for the twenty (20) consecutive trading days prior to the IND Reference Date or (B) $2.95. The value of any shares issued in consideration for the Phase 2 Milestone Consideration Amount shall be determined based the lower of (A) on the average of the closing trading prices of our Common Stock as reported on the Nasdaq Global Market for the twenty (20) consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of the occurrence of the Phase 2 Milestone Event or (B) $3.54.

The future contingent payments related to the Regulatory Milestones are stock-based payments accounted for under FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 480, Distinguishing Liabilities From Equity (“ASC 480”). Such stock-based payments are subject to a lock-up whereby 50% of the shares are released at 3 months and 50% are released at 6 months. The future contingent payments related to the Sales Milestones are predominately cash-based payments accounted for under FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 450, Contingencies. Accordingly, the Company will recognize the Sales Milestones when the contingency is resolved and the amount is paid or payable.

On November 3, 2020, the Company received acknowledgement from the Australian Government Department of Health on the Company’s submitted clinical trial notification (“CTN”) which triggered the obligation to settle the IND Milestone payment to the former owners. As a result, on November 19, 2020, the Company issued 1,694,906 shares of its Common Stock valued at $9.57 per share for the amount value of $13.6 million to the former Spitfire stockholders. Pursuant to the Spitfire Merger Agreement, the Company issued the shares within sixty days of the submission of the CTN, which was October 29, 2020. From September 30, 2020 through the date of issuance, the Company recognized a decrease in the fair value of the IND Milestone payment of $5.4 million to research and development expense and reclassified the balance in the contingent consideration liability associated with the fair value of the IND Milestone payment to equity in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet.

At the acquisition date, the Company estimated future contingent consideration of $2.8 million for the Regulatory Milestones which was based upon a Monte Carlo simulation that was risk adjusted based on the probability of achieving the milestones and a discount for lack of marketability, which was expensed to in-process research and development expenses during the third quarter of 2019. The Company remeasures the fair value of contingent consideration at each reporting date, and below is a summary of the contingent consideration activity through December 31, 2020:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Beginning balance	$	2,750,000		$	—
Acquisition date fair value		—			2,750,000
Cumulative change in fair value		16,265,010			—
Fair value of payments settled in common stock (IND Milestone)		(13,625,010	)		—
Ending balance	$	5,390,000		$	2,750,000

The net increase in fair value throughout 2020 was primarily attributable to an increase in the closing share price of the Company’s common stock and in the probability of milestone achievement, partially offset by the fair value of the IND Milestone payment settled in common stock. Any changes in fair value including the initial determination of acquisition date fair value have been recorded within research and development expense during the respective periods presented.

Notes Payable and Other Liabilities

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Notes Payable And Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

Notes Payable and Other Liabilities

9. Notes Payable and Other Liabilities

Paycheck Protection Program

On April 7, 2020, the Company applied for a loan from ServisFirst Bank, as lender, pursuant to the Paycheck Protection Program of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) as administered by the U.S. Small Business Administration (the "SBA"). On April 13, 2020, the Loan was approved and the Company received the proceeds from a loan in the amount of $632,000 (the “PPP Loan”).

The PPP Loan, which took the form of a promissory note (the “Promissory Note”), was set to mature on April 7, 2022 and bore interest at a rate of 1% per annum. Monthly principal and interest payments, less the amount of any potential forgiveness (discussed below), was to commence on November 7, 2020. The Promissory Note provided for customary events of default, including, among others, those relating to failure to make payment, bankruptcy, breaches of representations and material adverse effects. The Company could prepay the principal of the PPP Loan at any time without incurring any prepayment charges.

All or a portion of the Loan may be forgiven by the SBA and lender upon application by the Company upon documentation of expenditures in accordance with the SBA requirements. On July 21, 2020, the Company voluntarily extinguished the Promissory Note by paying the outstanding principal and accrued interest in cash.

The Company’s other long-term liabilities are summarized as follows:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Lease obligation, long-term portion (see Note 6)	$	1,468,124	$	1,484,679
Conditional economic incentive grants		250,000		250,000
Other		110,319		130,196
Total other long-term liabilities	$	1,828,443	$	1,864,875

BPI France Notes

The Company had two non-interest-bearing research and development funding arrangements with BPI France that were entered into in December 2013 to provide up to €750,000 in research funding in the first arrangement and up to €250,000 in the second arrangement. The Company was permitted to draw 50% of the funds upon the signing of the arrangements, an additional 30% contingent upon a financial audit and technical progress report, and the remaining amounts at the completion of the research and development project being funded by the arrangements. In October 2016, the Company and BPI France agreed to extend the term on the arrangement by two years. The total amount advanced under the arrangements was €500,000. In April 2019, the Company was notified that €102,951 exceeded the allowable funding in accordance with the arrangement and made payment of this amount on June 5, 2019. In September 2019, the Company was notified that €238,229 ($265,540) was converted into a grant and recognized as grant revenue for the year ended December 31, 2019. In October 2019, the Company paid the remaining balance on the BPI France notes. The total repayments during the year ended December 31, 2019 was $292,002.

Economic Incentive Grants

The Company has two conditional economic incentive grants for a total of $250,000 from Montgomery County, Maryland and the State of Maryland. The Montgomery County grant was received in May of 2018, with a term expiring on February 28, 2028. The State of Maryland grant was received in October 2019, with a 10-year term expiring on December 31, 2029. These grants are conditional primarily based on the Company maintaining its current headquarter locations in addition to employing a required number of employees at different reporting dates through the term of the grant. The Company is accruing 3% interest on both grants and has recorded $12,625 and $5,042 in interest expense for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Common Stock

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Text Block [Abstract]

Common Stock

10. Common Stock

Public Offering

On July 16, 2020, the Company offered and sold (i) 3,369,564 shares of common stock, at a price to the public of $23.00 per share, and (ii) pre-funded warrants of the Company to purchase 1,630,436 shares of common stock at an exercise price equal to $0.0001 per share (the “Pre-Funded Warrants”), at a price to the public of $22.9999 per share of common stock underlying the Pre-Funded Warrants (equal to the public offering price per share of Common Stock, minus the exercise price of each Pre-Funded Warrant). The Pre-Funded Warrants are exercisable at any time, provided that each Pre-Funded Warrant holder will be prohibited from exercising such Pre-Funded Warrants into shares of the Company’s common stock if, as a result of such exercise, the holder, together with its affiliates, would own more than 4.99% of the total number of shares of the Company’s common stock then issued and outstanding, which percentage may change at the holders’ election to any other number less than or equal to 19.99% upon 61 days’ notice to the Company. The gross proceeds of this offering were approximately $132.2 million, which includes the exercise in full of the underwriters’ option to purchase an additional 750,000 shares of common stock, before deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses during the third quarter of 2020. The net proceeds of this offering were approximately $124.0 million, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by the Company.

The Company has assessed the Pre-Funded Warrants for appropriate equity or liability classification and determined that the Pre-Funded Warrants are freestanding instruments that do not meet the definition of a liability pursuant to ASC 480 and do not meet the definition of a derivative pursuant to FASB Accounting Standards Codification Topic 815, Derivatives and Hedging (“ASC 815”). The Pre-Funded Warrants are indexed to the Company’s common stock and meet all other conditions for equity classification under ASC 480 and ASC 815. Accordingly, the Pre-Funded Warrants are classified as equity and are accounted for as a component of additional paid-in capital at the time of issuance.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, no Pre-Funded Warrants were exercised.

At-the-Market Offering

On March 27, 2020, the Company entered into an Equity Distribution Agreement (the “Agreement”) with JMP Securities LLC, serving as placement agent (the “Placement Agent”) with respect to an at-the-market offering program under which the Company may offer and sell, from time to time at its sole discretion, shares of its common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Common Stock”), having an aggregate offering price of up to $50.0 million (the “Shares”) through the Placement Agent (the “Offering”).

Any Shares offered and sold in the Offering were issued pursuant to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on April 4, 2019, which was declared effective on April 12, 2019, the prospectus supplement relating to the Offering filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020 and any applicable additional prospectus supplements related to the Offering that form a part of the Registration Statement. The aggregate market value of Shares eligible for sale in the Offering and under the Equity Distribution Agreement were subject to the limitations of General Instruction I.B.6 of Form S-3, to the extent required under such instruction. The Company offered Shares having an aggregate offering price of $18.9 million pursuant to the prospectus supplement filed with the SEC on March 27, 2020. On June 1, 2020, the Company filed an amendment to the Agreement which amended the prospectus supplement dated March 27, 2020 to increase the aggregate offering price to $50.0 million.

As of December 31, 2020, the Company has sold 5,594,455 shares of Common Stock under the Agreement resulting in $48.2 million in net proceeds, which concluded this Offering. The Company recorded and recognized approximately $0.3 million of offering costs which offset the proceeds received from the shares sold associated with this program.

Registered Direct Offering

On March 12, 2019, the Company issued a combined total of 4,361,370 common units and pre-funded units to certain institutional investors in a registered direct offering (the “Registered Direct Offering”). Each common unit in the Registered Direct Offering was sold at a price of $3.21 and consisted of one share of common stock and 0.70 of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $3.21. Each warrant sold in the Registered Direct Offering was exercisable immediately and expired five years from the date of issuance. Each pre-funded unit in the Registered Direct Offering was sold at a public offering price of $3.20 and consisted of a pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per share and 0.70 of a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $3.21. All of the pre-funded warrants were exercised during 2019. The net proceeds of the Registered Direct Offering were $12.7 million, after deducting the underwriting discount and estimated offering expenses payable by the Company.

The warrants issued in the Registered Direct Offering were recognized as equity classified freestanding financial instruments. The Registered Direct Offering triggered a down round adjustment to the exercise price of the warrants issued in the 2018 Unit Offering (refer to Note 11) from $4.1798 to $2.7568. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company treated the value of the effect of the reduction in exercise price as a deemed dividend of $452,925 which reduced income available to common shareholders. The value of a down round feature is measured as the difference between the financial instrument’s fair value (without the down round feature) using the pre-trigger exercise price and the financial instrument’s fair value (without the down round feature) using the reduced exercise price.

Warrants

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Equity [Abstract]

Warrants

11. Warrants

The following common stock warrants were outstanding at December 31, 2020:

Number of

Common

Stock

Warrants

Per Share

Exercise

Price

Issuance Date

Expiration Date

Replacement warrants

155

483.00

March 3, 2012

March 3, 2022

Issued with redeemable preferred stock*

1,420

3.50

August 16, 2017

August 16, 2022

Issued with common units in the 2018 Unit Offering

3,300

2.7568

October 2, 2018

October 2, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering

92,300

5.40

October 10, 2018

October 10, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2019 Registered Direct Offering (see Note 10)

50,000

3.21

March 12, 2019

March 12, 2024

Issued with common units in the 2020 Public Offering (see Note 10)

1,630,436

0.0001

July 16, 2020

—

Total

1,777,611

*Liability classified warrants

The following common stock warrants were outstanding at December 31, 2019:

Number of

Common

Stock

Warrants

Per Share

Exercise

Price

Issuance Date

Expiration Date

Replacement warrants

155

483.00

March 3, 2012

March 3, 2022

Issued with redeemable preferred stock*

80.10

August 16, 2017

August 16, 2022

Issued with common units in 2018 Unit Offering

2,505,250

2.7568

October 2, 2018

October 2, 2023

Underwriter warrant issued in 2018 Unit Offering

196,650

6.25

October 2, 2018

September 28, 2021

Issued with common units in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering

4,629,630

5.40

October 10, 2018

October 10, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2019 Registered Direct Offering (see Note 10)

3,052,959

3.21

March 12, 2019

March 12, 2024

Total

10,384,706

*Liability classified warrants

The following is a description of the common stock warrants issued prior to January 1, 2019:

Replacement Warrants

In May 2017, the Company issued 155 common stock warrants to replace outstanding common stock warrants in connection with the Company’s merger with PharmAthene, Inc.

Redeemable Preferred Stock Warrants

In August 2017, in connection with a redeemable preferred stock issuance, the Company granted warrants to holders of redeemable preferred stock to purchase up to 78,181 shares of the Company’s common stock. Warrants issued with the redeemable preferred stock are classified as a liability and were initially recorded at their grant date fair value, and remeasured on each subsequent balance sheet date. The warrant liability is classified as a component of other long-term liabilities. During the year ended December 31, 2019, the Company exchanged 1,550 of these warrants for a combination of common stock and cash, leaving 62 of these warrants outstanding as of December 31, 2019. During the second quarter of 2020, the 62 common stock warrants were repriced to 1,420 common stock warrants due to the At-the-Market Offering which triggered an anti-dilution provision under the warrant agreement with the Company’s holders of redeemable preferred stock.

2018 Unit Offering

On October 2, 2018, the Company issued a combined total of 2,400,000 common units and pre-funded units in a public offering (the “2018 Unit Offering”). Each common unit in the 2018 Unit Offering was sold at a public offering price of $5.00 and consisted of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $6.00. Each warrant sold in the 2018 Unit Offering was exercisable immediately and expired five years from the date of issuance. Each pre-funded unit in the 2018 Unit Offering was sold at a public offering price of $4.99 and consisted of a pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per share and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $6.00. The pre-funded warrants were immediately exercisable and were able to be exercised at any time until all of the pre-funded warrants were exercised in full. All of the pre-funded warrants were exercised prior to December 31, 2018.

The warrants issued in the 2018 Unit Offering are each subject to anti-dilution protection. Accordingly, to the extent the Company was to issue additional common stock or securities convertible into common stock at an issuance price lower than exercise price of the warrants, the exercise price of the warrants would be adjusted to the lower of (i) the issuance price or (ii) the lowest volume weighted average price of the Company’s common stock on the five trading days following the announcement of the new offering.

In conjunction with the 2018 Unit Offering, the Company issued 196,650 warrants to the underwriter. The underwriter warrants had an exercise price per share equal to 125% of the public offering price per common unit in this offering and could be exercised on a cashless basis. As of December 30, 2020, all of the underwriter warrants were exercised in full.

2018 Registered Direct Offering

On October 10, 2018, the Company issued a combined total of 4,629,630 common units and pre-funded units to certain institutional investors in a registered direct offering (the “2018 Registered Direct Offering”). Each common unit in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering was sold at a price of $5.40 and consisted of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $5.40. Each warrant sold in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering was exercisable immediately and expired five years from the date of issuance. Each pre-funded unit in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering was sold at a public offering price of $5.39 and consisted of a pre-funded warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $0.01 per share and a warrant to purchase one share of common stock at an exercise price of $5.40. The pre-funded warrants were immediately exercisable and were able to be exercised at any time until all of the pre-funded warrants are exercised in full. All of the pre-funded warrants were exercised prior to December 31, 2018.

The 2018 Registered Direct Offering triggered a down round adjustment to the exercise price of the warrants issued in the 2018 Unit Offering from $6.00 to $4.1798.

A summary of warrant activity is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Warrants outstanding, beginning		10,384,706			7,344,297
Issuances		1,631,794			3,052,959
Exercises		(10,238,889	)		(12,550	)
Warrants outstanding, ending		1,777,611			10,384,706

Stock-Based Compensation

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]

Stock-Based Compensation

12. Stock-Based Compensation

Stock Options

The Company established the 2001 Employee Stock Option Plan to provide incentive stock options and non-qualified stock options to employees, and the 2001 Non-employee Stock Option Plan to provide non-qualified stock options to the members of the board of directors and advisory board, and non-employees. The 2001 Employee Stock Option Plan and the 2001 Non-employee Stock Option Plan are collectively referred to as the “2001 Plans.” In connection with the PharmAthene Merger Agreement in 2017, the Company issued options from its 2001 Plans to replace options previously granted. The Company de-designated common stock available for issuance under the 2001 Plans. No additional options or restricted stock will be granted under these plans. Options outstanding and unvested restricted stock granted or replaced under these plans will continue to vest over the remaining vesting period through the earlier of exercise, expiration, or forfeiture no additional options, restricted stock or other awards will be granted under these plans. The replacement options issued after the 2017 mergers will continue to vest over the remaining vesting period through the earlier of exercise, expiration, or forfeiture. Also, in connection with the 2017 mergers, the 2001 Plans were assumed by the Company.

In addition, the Company assumed the PharmAthene, Inc. Amended and Restated 2007 Long-Term Incentive Compensation Plan (the “2007 Plan”). Awards outstanding under the 2007 Plan remained outstanding in accordance with their applicable terms and conditions. No additional awards will be made under the 2007 Plan.

The Company established the 2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan (the “Omnibus Plan”) to provide incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, restricted stock, and other stock-based awards denominated in shares of the Company’s common stock, and performance-based cash awards to eligible employees, consultants, and directors. In 2018, the Company’s shareholders approved an amendment to the Omnibus Plan to increase the number of shares reserved for issuance from 1,500,000 to 5,000,000. The aggregate share reserve will be increased on January 1 of each year commencing in 2018 and ending on and including January 1, 2027 up to an amount equal to the lowest of (i) 4% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on a fully diluted basis as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) such number of shares of common stock, if any, determined by the Company’s board of directors. The maximum shares of common stock that may be granted to each employee or consultant in any fiscal year under the Omnibus Plan is the lesser of 800,000 shares per type of award or a maximum compensation amount of $5,000,000 under a Black-Scholes valuation model. The maximum common stock that may be granted to directors under the Omnibus Plan during any fiscal year is 500,000 shares.

On November 29, 2018, the Board approved and adopted the Altimmune Inc. 2018 Inducement Grant Plan (the “Inducement Plan”). The Inducement Plan provides for the grant of equity or equity-based awards in the form of non-qualified stock options, restricted stock awards, and other stock-based awards. The Inducement Plan was adopted by the Board without stockholder approval pursuant to Rule 5635(c)(4) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules.

The Board has reserved 2,000,000 shares of the Company’s common stock for issuance pursuant to awards granted under the Inducement Plan (subject to customary adjustments in the event of a change in capital structure of the Company), and the Inducement Plan will be administered by the Compensation Committee. In accordance with Rule 5635(c)(4) of the NASDAQ Listing Rules, awards under the Inducement Plan may be only made to an employee who has not previously been an employee or member of the Board or any parent or subsidiary, or following a bona fide period of non-employment by the Company or a parent or subsidiary, if he or she is granted such award in connection with his or her commencement of employment with the Company or a subsidiary and such grant is an inducement material to his or her entering into employment with the Company or such subsidiary.

The 2001 Plans, the 2007 Plan, the Omnibus Plan, and the Inducement Plan are collectively referred to as the “Plans.” During the year ended December 31, 2020 under the Plans, a total of 708,000 options to purchase shares of common stock were granted. As of December 31, 2020, there were 324,710 and 1,517,001 shares of common stock available for future grants under the Omnibus Plan and the Inducement Plan, respectively.

The fair value of stock option issued to employees was estimated at the date of grant using Black-Scholes with the following weighted-average assumptions:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Expected volatility		102.35	%		92.68	%
Expected term (years)		5.88			5.89
Risk-free interest rate		1.24	%		2.17	%
Expected dividend yield		0.00	%		0.00	%

Expected volatility: As there is not sufficient historical volatility for the expected term of the stock options, the Company uses an average historical share price volatility, inclusive of its own volatility, based on an analysis of reported data for a peer group of comparable companies which were selected based upon industry similarities.

Expected term (years): Expected term represents the number of years that the Company’s option grants are expected to be outstanding. There is not sufficient historical share exercise data to calculate the expected term of the stock options, therefore, the Company elected to utilize the simplified method to value option grants. Under this approach, the weighted average expected life is presumed to be the average of the vesting term and the contractual term of the option.

Risk-free interest rate: The Company determined the risk-free interest rate by using a weighted-average equivalent to the expected term based on the daily U.S. Treasury yield curve rate in effect as of the date of grant.

Expected dividend yield: The Company does not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.

The fair value of each non-employee stock option is estimated at the date of grant using Black-Scholes with assumptions generally consistent with those used for employee stock options, with the exception of expected term, which is over the contractual life.

A summary of stock option activity under the Plans is presented below:

	Number of Stock Options			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding, December 31, 2019		973,172		$	4.36		5.91	$	—
Granted		708,000		$	4.75
Exercised		(46,966	)	$	2.74
Forfeited or expired		(7,454	)	$	6.48
Outstanding, December 31, 2020		1,626,752		$	4.58		5.90	$	12,234,740
Exercisable, December 31, 2020		550,518		$	5.93		5.74	$	4,104,806
Vested and expected to vest, December 31, 2020		968,611		$	3.88		5.98	$	8,129,935

The per share weighted-average grant date fair value of stock options granted during the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 were $4.75 and $2.67 per share, respectively. The total intrinsic value of stock options exercised during the year ended December 31, 2020 was $0.9 million. There were no shares exercised during the year ended December 31, 2019. The total fair value of awards vested during 2020 and 2019 was $1.1 million and $1.0 million, respectively. At December 31, 2020, there was $2.7 million of unrecognized compensation cost related to stock options, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 2.4 years.

Restricted Stock

In October 2016, the Company authorized and granted a restricted stock award of 2,651 shares at an aggregate purchase price of $1,067. The weighted average grant date fair value of the restricted stock award was $310.80 per share. The restricted stock vests ratably at the end of each quarter over four years starting on December 31, 2016 with 50% of the original issued shared subject to accelerated vesting upon a deemed liquidation event. During the year ended December 31, 2020, 213 of the restricted shares fully vested, which completed the vesting of this share award.

In November 2018, the Company authorized and granted the Chief Executive Officer a restricted stock award of 322,907 shares on his date of hire. The weighted average grant date fair value of the restricted stock award was $3.59 per share. The restricted stock vests over a four-year period, 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary, and the remaining 75% vesting in 36 substantially equal monthly installments and will be fully vested on December 1, 2022; provided, however, that the executive officer has not experienced a termination prior to the applicable vesting date. The fair value of the 80,727 restricted shares that vested during the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled $0.8 million.

In June 2020, the Company authorized and granted 109,525 shares of restricted stock awards which vested over three months. The weighted average grant date fair value of the restricted stock award was $9.19 per share. The fair value of the 109,525 restricted shares that vested during the year ended December 31, 2020 totaled $1.3 million.

In September 2020, the Company authorized and granted 15,000 shares of restricted stock units which vested over a four-year period, 25% of the shares vesting on the one-year anniversary, and the remaining 75% vesting in 36 substantially equal monthly installments and will be fully vested on September 22, 2024. The weighted average grant date fair value of the restricted stock award was $14.35 per share. No restricted shares vested during the year ended December 31, 2020.

A summary of restricted stock activities is presented below:

	Shares			Weighted- average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, December 31, 2019		235,666		$	3.87
Granted		124,525			9.81
Vested		(190,465	)		7.15
Unvested, December 31, 2020		169,726		$	4.54

As of December 31, 2020, total unrecognized compensation expense related to restricted stock awards was $0.7 million, which the Company expects to recognize over a weighted average period of approximately 2.1 years.

2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan

On March 29, 2019, the board of directors adopted the 2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan (the “2019 ESPP”). A total of 403,500 shares of the Company’s common stock have been reserved for issuance under the 2019 ESPP. Subject to any plan limitations, the 2019 ESPP allows eligible employees to contribute through payroll deductions up to 10% of their earnings for the purchase of the Company’s common stock at a discounted price per share. The offering periods begin in February and August of each year, with the initial offering period started on August 1, 2019. The common shares issuable under the 2019 ESPP were registered pursuant to a registration statement on Form S-8 on April 4, 2019.

Unless otherwise determined by the administrator, the Company’s common stock will be purchased for the accounts of employees participating in the 2019 ESPP at a price per share that is the lesser of 85% of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the first trading day of the offering period or 85% of the fair market value of the Company’s common stock on the last trading day of the offering period. The ESPP estimated shares to be purchased fair value is included in the stock-based compensation expense.

Employees have the ability to purchase shares of the Company’s common stock at the lower of the first or last trading day of the offering period, which represents an option and, therefore, the ESPP is a compensatory plan under ASC 718-50, Employee Stock Purchase Plans. Accordingly, stock-based compensation expense is determined based on the option’s grant-date fair value, employee contributions, and the Company’s stock price and is recognized over the requisite service period of the option. The Company used the Black-Scholes valuation model.

During the year ended December 31, 2020, employees purchased 92,661 shares for $135,466 under the 2019 ESPP. The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense related to this plan of $158,177 and $21,608 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively.

Stock-based Compensation Expense

Stock-based compensation expense is classified in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
Research and development	$	357,762	$	356,718
General and administrative		2,218,244		907,513
Total	$	2,576,006	$	1,264,231

U.S. Government Contracts and Grants

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

U S Government Contracts And Grants Disclosures [Abstract]

U.S. Government Contracts and Grants

13. U.S. Government Contracts and Grants

In June 2020, the Company was awarded $4.7 million from the U.S. Army Medical Research & Development Command (“USAMRDC”) to fund its Phase 1/2 clinical trial of T-COVID. The competitive award was granted by USAMRDC in collaboration with the Medical Technology Enterprise Consortium (“MTEC”), a 501(c)(3) biomedical technology consortium working in partnership with the Department of Defense (“DoD”). Under the contract, MTEC will pay the Company a firm fixed fee based upon the achievement of certain milestones for conduct and completion of a Phase 1/2 study and research and development work on the replication-deficient adenovirus 5 (“RD-Ad5”) vector vaccine platform. For the year ended December 31, 2020, the Company has recognized $4.2 million of grant revenue under this contract.

In July 2016, the Company signed a five-year contract with BARDA. The contract, as amended, has a total value of up to $133.7 million and is used to fund clinical development of NasoShield. Under the contract, BARDA pays the Company a fixed fee and reimburses certain costs for the research and development of an Ad5-vectored, protective antigen-based intranasal anthrax vaccine through cGMP manufacture and conduct of a Phase 1 clinical trial dose ranging assessment of safety and immunogenicity. The contract consists of an initial base performance period providing approximately $27.8 million in funding for the period July 2016 through June 2021. BARDA has seven options to extend the contract to fund certain continued development and manufacturing activities for the anthrax vaccine, including Phase 2 clinical studies. Each option, if exercised by BARDA, would provide additional funding ranging from approximately $1.1 million to $34.4 million for a three-year period beginning in 2021. For the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, the Company has recognized $3.1 million and $5.3 million of grant revenue under the current BARDA contract, respectively.

Employee Benefit Plans

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Compensation And Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]

Employee Benefit Plans

14. Employee Benefit Plans

The Company has a 401(k)-retirement plan in which substantially all of our employees in the United States are eligible to participate in. Eligible employees may elect to contribute up to the maximum limits, as set by the Internal Revenue Service, of their eligible compensation. During 2020 and 2019, the Company made discretionary plan contributions of $170,727 and $131,412, respectively.

The entire disclosure for retirement benefits.

+ References

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+ Details

Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Income Taxes

15. Income Taxes

The components of net loss before income tax benefit are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
U.S. operations	$	(50,735,735	)	$	(18,562,738	)
Non-U.S. operations		(3,725,766	)		(2,015,893	)
Net loss before income tax benefit	$	(54,461,501	)	$	(20,578,631	)

The components of the income tax benefit are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
U.S. federal
Current	$	4,706,092	$	—
Deferred		—		45,465
U.S. state and local
Current		710,932		—
Deferred		—		13,035
Income tax benefit	$	5,417,024	$	58,500

Reconciliation between the effect of applying the federal statutory rate and the effective income tax rate used to calculate the Company’s income tax benefit is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Federal statutory rate		21.00	%		21.00	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		4.10			3.12
Research and development tax credit		(0.84	)		(1.51	)
Acquired in process research and development		(6.27	)		(7.03	)
CARES Act U.S. federal and state carryback claim		1.81			—
Other		0.29			(2.81	)
Change in valuation allowance		(10.14	)		(12.49	)
Effective tax rate		9.95	%		0.28	%

Deferred income taxes reflect the net tax effects of temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income and for tax carryforwards. Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities are as follows:

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	18,978,410		$	13,493,760
Accrued expenses		495,301			208,604
Amortization		785,523			947,115
Stock compensation		584,507			622,789
Lease liability		502,151			479,940
Other		106,197			117,713
Valuation allowance		(18,671,086	)		(13,149,779	)
Total deferred tax assets		2,781,003			2,720,142
Deferred tax liabilities:
IPR&D assets		(2,386,667	)		(2,373,304	)
Right of use asset		(248,710	)		(192,160	)
Depreciation		(145,626	)		(154,678	)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(2,781,003	)		(2,720,142	)
Total deferred tax liabilities net	$	—		$	—

The Company assesses the need for a valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets and considers both positive and negative evidence related to the likelihood of realization of the deferred tax assets to determine, based on the weight of available evidence, whether it is more-likely-than-not that some or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. This determination requires significant judgment, including assumptions about future taxable income that are based on historical and projected information. The increase in the valuation allowance during the year ended December 31, 2020 primarily relates to increases for current year losses in both the U.S. and foreign locations which the Company concluded needed a full valuation allowance, but was partially offset by the utilization of a portion of the U.S. federal and state losses to offset the Company’s 2016 tax liability, due to provisions of the CARES Act enacted in 2020. The Company has recorded a valuation allowance against its gross U.S. deferred tax assets it believes are not more likely than not realizable and the net non-U.S. deferred tax assets, although, a portion of the current year loss was benefited for an additional U.S. Federal carryback from the CARES Act. Deferred tax liabilities, consist primarily of indefinite life IPR&D assets located in a foreign subsidiary, which will be applied in the future to offset against net operating losses (“NOLs”) that have an unlimited life.

The Company has U.S. federal and state net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $45.7 million as of December 31, 2020. Of this amount, $6.6 million has a 20-year carry forward period that will expire at various dates beginning in 2021. Under current law, the remaining amount of $39.1 million has an unlimited life. The Company also has foreign net operating loss carryforward of approximately $30.8 million which carryforward indefinitely.

Under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, substantial changes in the Company’s ownership may limit the amount of NOLs that can be utilized annually in the future to offset its U.S. federal and state taxable income. Specifically, this limitation may arise in the event of a cumulative change in ownership of the Company of more than 50% within any three-year period. The amount of the annual limitation is determined based on the value of the Company immediately before the ownership change. The Company has reduced the NOL and related valuation allowance in historical periods and while the Company is in the process of completing its evaluation of whether an equity shift occurred in 2020, it is not expected to require an adjustment to the net NOLs and related valuation allowance. Subsequent ownership changes may further affect the limitation in future years. The Company continues to evaluate its losses for these provisions.

Significant judgment is required in evaluating tax positions and determining the provision for income taxes. The Company establishes liabilities for tax-related uncertainties based on estimates of whether, and the extent to which, additional taxes may be due. These liabilities are established when the Company believes that certain positions might be challenged despite its belief that its tax return positions are fully supportable. The Company adjusts these liabilities in light of changing facts and circumstances, such as the outcome of a tax audit. The provision for income taxes includes the impact of changes to these liabilities.

The amount of unrecognized tax benefits was $0.7 million and $0.0 million as of December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively. Any changes in the next twelve months are not anticipated to have a significant impact on the results of operations, financial position or cash flows of the Company. All of the Company’s uncertain tax positions, if recognized, would affect its income tax expense.

The Company has elected an accounting policy to classify interest and penalties related to unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. As of December 31, 2020 and 2019, potential interest and penalties on unrecognized tax benefits were not significant.

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits excluding related interest and penalties:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
Beginning of year	$	—	$	—
Positions taken in the prior year		710,783		—
End of year	$	710,783	$	—

The Company files income tax returns in the United States, various U.S. states, U.K., and Australia. The Company is still open to examination by the applicable taxing authorities from 2009 forward, although tax attributes that were generated prior to 2009 may still be adjusted upon examination by federal, state, foreign, or local tax authorities if they either have been or will be used in a future period.

The entire disclosure for income taxes. Disclosures may include net deferred tax liability or asset recognized in an enterprise's statement of financial position, net change during the year in the total valuation allowance, approximate tax effect of each type of temporary difference and carryforward that gives rise to a significant portion of deferred tax liabilities and deferred tax assets, utilization of a tax carryback, and tax uncertainties information.

Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

Net Loss Per Share

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Net Loss Per Share

16. Net Loss Per Share

Because the Company has reported net loss attributable to common stockholders for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to common stockholders are the same for both years.

Basic net loss per share attributable to common stockholders is computed by dividing the net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted average numbers of shares of common stock outstanding for the period. Basic shares outstanding includes the weighted average effect of the Company’s outstanding pre-funded warrants, the exercise of which requires little or no consideration for the delivery of shares of common stock.

Diluted net loss per share is calculated by adjusting weighted average shares outstanding for the dilutive effect of common stock equivalents outstanding for the period. As such, all unvested restricted stock, common stock warrants, and stock options have been excluded from the computation of diluted weighted average shares outstanding because such securities would have an anti-dilutive impact for all periods presented.

Potential common shares issuable upon conversion, vesting or exercise of unvested restricted stock, common stock warrants, and stock options that are excluded from the computation of diluted weighted-average shares outstanding, as they are anti-dilutive, are as follows:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Common stock warrants		147,175		10,384,706
Common stock options		1,631,898		1,001,242
Restricted stock		169,726		235,666

Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Commitments and Contingencies

17. Commitments and Contingencies

License Obligations

University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Foundation

The Company had an agreement with the University of Alabama at Birmingham Research Foundation (“UABRF”) for the exclusive worldwide license to develop, manufacture, and commercialize certain proprietary technology developed at UABRF. That agreement expired in accordance with its terms in January 2020. Under the terms of the amended and restated agreement, the Company was obligated to pay an annual license fee of $20,000 and low single digit royalty fees upon the commencement of product sales. Fees incurred under the UABRF agreement totaled $20,000 for the year ended December 31, 2019 and are classified as a component of research and development expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

PER.C6 Cell Line - Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V.

The Company has a royalty-bearing, worldwide non-exclusive license agreement with Janssen Vaccines & Prevention B.V. (formerly known as Crucell Holland B.V.) (“Janssen”) for use of its vaccine technology. The Company may terminate the license agreement without cause, and the agreement contains customary provisions for either party to terminate prior to the expiration of the agreement. The amended license agreement expires on a product-by-product and country-by-country basis on the later of the date upon which the last of the licensed patents applicable to the relevant product expires or 15 years from the date of first commercial sale of the relevant product. The Janssen patent rights include patents issued in the United States with an expected expiration date no earlier than April 2020, in each case not giving effect to any potential extensions and assuming payment of all associated fees. Upon expiration of the amended license agreement, or if the Company terminates the amended license agreement for Janssen’s material breach, the Company retains the right to exploit the rights granted. Under the agreement, the Company is required to pay an annual license fee and annual royalty fees upon reaching certain milestones in an amount that equals the greater of a low single digit percentage of net sales or $150,000.

On April 2, 2020, the Company entered into Amendment No. 3 to the Second Restated License Agreement and additionally entered into Amendment No. 4, 5 and 6 throughout 2020 (collectively, the “Amendments”), by and between the Company and Janssen (as amended by Amendment No. 1 to Second Restated License Agreement and Amendment No. 2 to Second Restated License Agreement, together with the Amendments, the “License Agreement”). Pursuant to the Amendment, the field of licenses granted to the Company for the use of the PER.C6 cell line under the License Agreement is expanded to cover COVID-19 caused by SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), in addition to the existing licenses related to Bacillus anthracis and influenza virus. All capitalized terms not defined herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Amendment or the License Agreement, as applicable.

Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company agreed to pay certain additional development-based milestone payments through approval of licensed products by the FDA for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19, up to an aggregate amount of $1.2 million. The Company also agreed to pay royalty payments as a percentage of net sales of products to a royalty stacking reduction and minimum annual royalty payments, until the expiration of the term of the License Agreement, as amended. Fees incurred under the Janssen agreement totaled $310,502 and $111,499 for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019, respectively, and are included in research and development expenses in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Spitfire Acquisition

As disclosed in Note 8, the Company is obligated to make payments of up to $80.0 million upon the achievement of specified worldwide net sales of all products developed using the technology acquired from Spitfire Pharma Inc. within ten years following the approval of a new drug application filed with the FDA.

Litigation

In December 2019, a complaint was filed by Dr. De-Chu Christopher Tang (“Plaintiff”) against the Company, which the Company removed to the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas. The Plaintiff amended the complaint in February 2020 to include Vipin K. Garg and David J. Drutz as defendants, in addition to the Company (Dr. Garg, Dr. Drutz, and the Company are collectively referred to as “Defendants”). In March 2020 the Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the complaint. The Court denied the motion without prejudice and allowed Plaintiff an opportunity to file an amended complaint. Plaintiff’s second amended complaint was filed on April 17, 2020, and Defendants filed a motion to dismiss that complaint on May 1, 2020. A hearing on Defendants’ motion to dismiss was held on May 20, 2020, and the motion is currently pending. Plaintiff, who is representing himself, alleges five causes of action as follows: (1) Defendants’ alleged retention of Plaintiff’s lab notebooks after the termination of his employment in 2012; (2) alleged plagiarism based on publishing an article without naming Plaintiff as an author; (3) use of the Adhigh System, which Plaintiff alleges he developed; (4) allegations that Defendants manipulated the Company’s stock and caused a decrease in value; and (5) allegations that the Defendants “wast[ed] government grant money and poison[ed] science by leaving data to rot.” On September 30, 2020, Plaintiff filed a motion titled “Motion to Proscribe Defendants’ Allegedly Illegal Use of Plaintiff’s AdHigh System in Altimmune’s Human Clinical Trials,” to which Defendants filed an opposition on October 13, 2020. The court has not yet ruled on that motion, which also remains pending. On November 6, 2020, Defendants filed a motion for summary judgment on the basis of lack of personal jurisdiction, insufficient service of process, and failure to state a claim. The court has not yet ruled on that motion, which also remains pending. On December 1, 2020, the magistrate judge assigned to the case issued a report and recommendation recommending that Defendants’ motion to dismiss of May 1, 2020 be granted and that this action be dismissed for lack of personal jurisdiction. Plaintiff filed objections to the report and recommendation on December 14, 2020, and the resolution of those objections by the district court remains pending. The Company believes the allegations in the complaint are without merit and intends to vigorously defend the litigation. However, the outcome of this legal proceeding is uncertain at this time and the Company cannot reasonably estimate a range of loss, if any. Accordingly, the Company has not accrued any liability associated with this action.

The Company is a party in various other contractual disputes, litigation, and potential claims arising in the ordinary course of business none of which are currently reasonably possible or probable of material loss.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Basis of Presentation and Principles of Consolidation

Use of Estimates

Comprehensive Loss

For the years presented, the total comprehensive loss includes net loss and other comprehensive income (loss) which represents unrealized gains or losses on investments.

Segment

Short-term Investments

Intangible Assets

Impairment of Long-lived Assets

Fair Value Measurements

Level 1 — Quoted prices (unadjusted) in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that the Company can access at the measurement date.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs developed using estimates of assumptions developed by the Company, which reflect those that a market participant would use.

Financial Instruments

Revenue

Research and Development

Cash Equivalents

Restricted Cash

Accounts Receivable

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Property and Equipment, Net

Depreciation and amortization are recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:

Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Computer and telecommunications		3 – 5 years
Software		3 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 years
Laboratory equipment		7 years
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term or estimated useful lives

Warrants

Stock-based Compensation

Income Taxes

Net Loss per Share

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are recorded as a current and long-term lease obligation, with a corresponding right of use lease assets.

Contingent Consideration

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted:

Not Yet Adopted:

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Depreciation and Amortization Recorded using Straight-line Method over Estimated Useful Lives

Depreciation and amortization are recorded using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, as follows:

Asset Category		Estimated Useful Life
Computer and telecommunications		3 – 5 years
Software		3 years
Furniture, fixtures and equipment		5 years
Laboratory equipment		7 years
Leasehold improvements		Lesser of lease term or estimated useful lives

Fair Value Measurement (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]

Schedule of Fair Value Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2020 consisted of the following:

	Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2020
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash equivalents - money market funds	$	90,389,473	$	90,389,473	$	—	$	—
Short-term investments		100,005,558		—		100,005,558		—
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)		5,390,000		—		—		5,390,000
Warrant liability		10,000		—		—		10,000

The Company’s assets and liabilities measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2019 consisted of the following:

	Fair Value Measurement at December 31, 2019
	Total		Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
Cash equivalents — money market fund	$	8,034,640	$	8,034,640	$	—	$	—
Short-term investments		28,277,386		—		28,277,386		—
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)		2,750,000		—		—		2,750,000
Warrant liability		10,000		—		—		10,000

Schedule of Short Term Investments

Short-term investments with quoted prices at December 31, 2020 as shown below:

	As of December 31, 2020
	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain			Market Value
United States treasury securities	$	20,052,757	$	1,843		$	20,054,600
Asset-backed and corporate debt securities		54,935,963		(6,197	)		54,929,766
Certificates of deposit		25,021,192		—			25,021,192
Total	$	100,009,912	$	(4,354	)	$	100,005,558

Short-term investments with quoted prices at December 31, 2019 as shown below:

	As of December 31, 2019
	Amortized Cost		Unrealized Gain		Market Value
United States treasury securities	$	3,394,579	$	3,228	$	3,397,807
Asset-backed and corporate debt securities		24,862,800		16,779		24,879,579
Total	$	28,257,379	$	20,007	$	28,277,386

Summary of Assumptions Used to Estimate Fair Value of Contingent Payments

The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of contingent payments that were classified as a liability at December 31, 2020 include the following significant unobservable inputs:

Unobservable input	Value or Range	Weighted Average
Expected volatility	114.9%	114.9%
Risk-free interest rate	0.11%	0.11%
Cost of capital	30%	30%
Discount for lack of marketability	9%-15%	12%
Probability of payment	63%	63%
Projected year of payment	2022	2022

The assumptions used to estimate the fair value of contingent payments that were classified as a liability at December 31, 2019 include the following significant unobservable inputs:

Unobservable input	Value or Range	Weighted Average
Expected volatility	95.3%	95.3%
Risk-free interest rate	1.60%	1.60%
Cost of capital	30%	30%
Discount for lack of marketability	8%-12%	10%
Probability of payment	31%-50%	46%
Projected year of payment	2020-2022	2020

Tabular disclosure of financial instruments measured at fair value, including those classified in shareholders' equity measured on a recurring or nonrecurring basis. Disclosures include, but are not limited to, fair value measurements recorded and the reasons for the measurements, level within the fair value hierarchy in which the fair value measurements are categorized and transfers between levels 1 and 2. Nonrecurring fair value measurements are those that are required or permitted in the statement of financial position in particular circumstances.

Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]

Property and Equipment, Net (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Summary of Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment, net consisted of the following:

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Furniture, fixtures and equipment	$	125,538		$	121,491
Laboratory equipment		959,585			926,590
Computers and telecommunications		220,316			150,517
Software		64,409			25,069
Leasehold improvements		1,285,883			1,228,108
Property and equipment, at cost		2,655,731			2,451,775
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,598,811	)		(1,347,567	)
Property and equipment, net	$	1,056,920		$	1,104,208

Intangible Assets (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]

Schedule of Intangible Assets

The Company’s intangible assets consisted of the following:

	December 31, 2020
	Estimated Useful Lives	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Impairment		Net Book Value
Internally developed patents	6 – 10 years	$	884,787	$	(479,908	)	$	—	$	404,879
Acquired licenses	16 – 20 years		285,000		(285,000	)		—		—
Total intangible assets subject to amortization			1,169,787		(764,908	)		—		404,879
IPR&D assets	Indefinite		12,418,967		—			—		12,418,967
Total		$	13,588,754	$	(764,908	)	$	—	$	12,823,846

	December 31, 2019
	Estimated Useful Lives	Gross Carrying Value		Accumulated Amortization			Impairment			Net Book Value
Internally developed patents	6 – 10 years	$	746,323	$	(448,874	)	$	—		$	297,449
Acquired licenses	16 – 20 years		285,000		(269,221	)		—			15,779
Total intangible assets subject to amortization			1,031,323		(718,095	)		—			313,228
IPR&D assets	Indefinite		13,418,967		—			(1,000,000	)		12,418,967
Total		$	14,450,290	$	(718,095	)	$	(1,000,000	)	$	12,732,195

Schedule of Future Estimated Amortization Expense

As of December 31, 2020, future estimated amortization expense is as follows:

For the Year Ended December 31,
2021	$	26,561
2022		26,561
2023		26,561
2024		22,655
2025		17,187
2026 and thereafter		285,354
Total	$	404,879

Leases (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Leases [Abstract]

Schedule of Supplemental Operating Leases Balance Sheet

Supplemental balance sheet information related to the operating leases is as follows:

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Operating lease obligations (see Note 7 and 9)	$	1,824,840		$	1,744,128
Right of use asset	$	903,825		$	698,321
Weighted-average remaining lease term		4.33			5.33
Weighted-average discount rate		7.3	%		8.0	%

Summary of Maturities of Operating Leases Liabilities

Maturities of operating lease liabilities are as follows:

Year ending December 31,
2021	$	475,372
2022		484,484
2023		493,868
2024		503,535
2025		168,929
Total operating lease payments		2,126,188
Less: imputed interest		(301,348	)
Total operating lease liabilities (see Note 7 and 9)	$	1,824,840

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Payables And Accruals [Abstract]

Schedule of Accrued Expense and Other Current Liabilities

Accrued expense and other current liabilities consist of the following:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Accrued professional services	$	1,350,194	$	429,467
Accrued payroll and employee benefits		2,351,599		1,183,130
Accrued interest		13,016		5,047
Accrued research and development		7,316,876		1,966,111
Lease obligation, current portion (see Note 6)		356,716		259,449
Deferred revenue		19,753		61,563
Total accrued expenses	$	11,408,154	$	3,904,767

Contingent Consideration (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Business Combinations [Abstract]

Summary of Fair Value of Contingent Consideration

The Company remeasures the fair value of contingent consideration at each reporting date, and below is a summary of the contingent consideration activity through December 31, 2020:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Beginning balance	$	2,750,000		$	—
Acquisition date fair value		—			2,750,000
Cumulative change in fair value		16,265,010			—
Fair value of payments settled in common stock (IND Milestone)		(13,625,010	)		—
Ending balance	$	5,390,000		$	2,750,000

Notes Payable and Other Liabilities (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Notes Payable And Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]

Summary of Long-term Portion of Outstanding Notes Payable as well as Other Long-Term Liabilities

The Company’s other long-term liabilities are summarized as follows:

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Lease obligation, long-term portion (see Note 6)	$	1,468,124	$	1,484,679
Conditional economic incentive grants		250,000		250,000
Other		110,319		130,196
Total other long-term liabilities	$	1,828,443	$	1,864,875

Warrants (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Equity [Abstract]

Summary of Common Stock Warrants Outstanding

The following common stock warrants were outstanding at December 31, 2020:

Number of

Common

Stock

Warrants

Per Share

Exercise

Price

Issuance Date

Expiration Date

Replacement warrants

155

483.00

March 3, 2012

March 3, 2022

Issued with redeemable preferred stock*

1,420

3.50

August 16, 2017

August 16, 2022

Issued with common units in the 2018 Unit Offering

3,300

2.7568

October 2, 2018

October 2, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering

92,300

5.40

October 10, 2018

October 10, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2019 Registered Direct Offering (see Note 10)

50,000

3.21

March 12, 2019

March 12, 2024

Issued with common units in the 2020 Public Offering (see Note 10)

1,630,436

0.0001

July 16, 2020

—

Total

1,777,611

*Liability classified warrants

The following common stock warrants were outstanding at December 31, 2019:

Number of

Common

Stock

Warrants

Per Share

Exercise

Price

Issuance Date

Expiration Date

Replacement warrants

155

483.00

March 3, 2012

March 3, 2022

Issued with redeemable preferred stock*

80.10

August 16, 2017

August 16, 2022

Issued with common units in 2018 Unit Offering

2,505,250

2.7568

October 2, 2018

October 2, 2023

Underwriter warrant issued in 2018 Unit Offering

196,650

6.25

October 2, 2018

September 28, 2021

Issued with common units in the 2018 Registered Direct Offering

4,629,630

5.40

October 10, 2018

October 10, 2023

Issued with common units in the 2019 Registered Direct Offering (see Note 10)

3,052,959

3.21

March 12, 2019

March 12, 2024

Total

10,384,706

*Liability classified warrants

Summary of Warrant Activity

A summary of warrant activity is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Warrants outstanding, beginning		10,384,706			7,344,297
Issuances		1,631,794			3,052,959
Exercises		(10,238,889	)		(12,550	)
Warrants outstanding, ending		1,777,611			10,384,706

Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]

Summary of Fair Value of Stock Options Issued to Employees

The fair value of stock option issued to employees was estimated at the date of grant using Black-Scholes with the following weighted-average assumptions:

	For the Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Expected volatility		102.35	%		92.68	%
Expected term (years)		5.88			5.89
Risk-free interest rate		1.24	%		2.17	%
Expected dividend yield		0.00	%		0.00	%

Schedule of Information Related to Stock Options Outstanding

A summary of stock option activity under the Plans is presented below:

	Number of Stock Options			Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Weighted-Average Remaining Contractual Term (Years)		Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Outstanding, December 31, 2019		973,172		$	4.36		5.91	$	—
Granted		708,000		$	4.75
Exercised		(46,966	)	$	2.74
Forfeited or expired		(7,454	)	$	6.48
Outstanding, December 31, 2020		1,626,752		$	4.58		5.90	$	12,234,740
Exercisable, December 31, 2020		550,518		$	5.93		5.74	$	4,104,806
Vested and expected to vest, December 31, 2020		968,611		$	3.88		5.98	$	8,129,935

Summary of Restricted Stock Activity

A summary of restricted stock activities is presented below:

	Shares			Weighted- average Grant Date Fair Value
Unvested, December 31, 2019		235,666		$	3.87
Granted		124,525			9.81
Vested		(190,465	)		7.15
Unvested, December 31, 2020		169,726		$	4.54

Schedule of Stock-based Compensation Expense

Stock-based compensation expense is classified in the accompanying consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss for the years ended December 31, 2020 and 2019 as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
Research and development	$	357,762	$	356,718
General and administrative		2,218,244		907,513
Total	$	2,576,006	$	1,264,231

Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]

Components of Net Loss Before Income Tax Benefit

The components of net loss before income tax benefit are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
U.S. operations	$	(50,735,735	)	$	(18,562,738	)
Non-U.S. operations		(3,725,766	)		(2,015,893	)
Net loss before income tax benefit	$	(54,461,501	)	$	(20,578,631	)

Components of Income Tax Benefits

The components of the income tax benefit are as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
U.S. federal
Current	$	4,706,092	$	—
Deferred		—		45,465
U.S. state and local
Current		710,932		—
Deferred		—		13,035
Income tax benefit	$	5,417,024	$	58,500

Reconciliation Between Effect of Applying Federal Statutory Rate and Effective Income Tax Rate Used to Calculate Income Tax Benefit

Reconciliation between the effect of applying the federal statutory rate and the effective income tax rate used to calculate the Company’s income tax benefit is as follows:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020			2019
Federal statutory rate		21.00	%		21.00	%
State income taxes, net of federal benefit		4.10			3.12
Research and development tax credit		(0.84	)		(1.51	)
Acquired in process research and development		(6.27	)		(7.03	)
CARES Act U.S. federal and state carryback claim		1.81			—
Other		0.29			(2.81	)
Change in valuation allowance		(10.14	)		(12.49	)
Effective tax rate		9.95	%		0.28	%

Components of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities

	December 31,
	2020			2019
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating losses	$	18,978,410		$	13,493,760
Accrued expenses		495,301			208,604
Amortization		785,523			947,115
Stock compensation		584,507			622,789
Lease liability		502,151			479,940
Other		106,197			117,713
Valuation allowance		(18,671,086	)		(13,149,779	)
Total deferred tax assets		2,781,003			2,720,142
Deferred tax liabilities:
IPR&D assets		(2,386,667	)		(2,373,304	)
Right of use asset		(248,710	)		(192,160	)
Depreciation		(145,626	)		(154,678	)
Total deferred tax liabilities		(2,781,003	)		(2,720,142	)
Total deferred tax liabilities net	$	—		$	—

Reconciliation of Unrecognized Tax Benefits

The following is a tabular reconciliation of the total amounts of unrecognized tax benefits excluding related interest and penalties:

	Year Ended December 31,
	2020		2019
Beginning of year	$	—	$	—
Positions taken in the prior year		710,783		—
End of year	$	710,783	$	—

Net Loss Per Share (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

Earnings Per Share [Abstract]

Schedule of Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share

	December 31,
	2020		2019
Common stock warrants		147,175		10,384,706
Common stock options		1,631,898		1,001,242
Restricted stock		169,726		235,666

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($) Segment	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of operating segments \| Segment	1
Fair value transfers, Level 1 to Level 2 assets	$ 0	$ 0
Fair value transfers, Level 2 to Level 1 assets	0	0
Fair value transfers, Level 1 to Level 2 liabilities	0	0
Fair value transfers, Level 2 to Level 1 liabilities	0	0
Restricted cash	$ 34,174	$ 34,174
Revenue from Rights Concentration Risk [Member] \| Research Grants and Contracts [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of concentration of credit risk	97.00%	95.00%
Revenue from Rights Concentration Risk [Member] \| Accounts Receivable [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of concentration of credit risk	100.00%	100.00%
Money Market Funds [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Restricted cash	$ 34,174	$ 34,174
IPR&D [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairments	$ 0	$ 1,000,000
Minimum [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Intangible assets amortization period	6 years
Maximum [Member]
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Intangible assets amortization period	20 years

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Summary of Depreciation and Amortization Recorded using Straight-line Method over Estimated Useful Lives (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020
Computers and Telecommunications [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	3 years
Computers and Telecommunications [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	3 years
Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	5 years
Laboratory Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	7 years
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Estimated useful lives of assets	Lesser of lease term or estimated useful lives

Fair Value Measurement - Schedule of Fair Value Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	$ 100,005,558	$ 28,277,386
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)	5,390,000	2,750,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	100,005,558	28,277,386
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)	5,390,000	2,750,000
Warrant liability	10,000	10,000
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] \| Level 2 [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Short-term investments	100,005,558	28,277,386
Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] \| Level 3 [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Contingent consideration liability (see Note 8)	5,390,000	2,750,000
Warrant liability	10,000	10,000
Money Market Funds [Member] \| Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash equivalents	90,389,473	8,034,640
Money Market Funds [Member] \| Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] \| Level 1 [Member]
Fair Value Assets And Liabilities Measured On Recurring And Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Cash equivalents	$ 90,389,473	$ 8,034,640

Fair Value Measurement - Schedule of Short Term Investments (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	$ 100,009,912	$ 28,257,379
Unrealized Gain	(4,354)	20,007
Market Value	100,005,558	28,277,386
United States Treasury Securities [Member]
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	20,052,757	3,394,579
Unrealized Gain	1,843	3,228
Market Value	20,054,600	3,397,807
Asset-backed and Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	54,935,963	24,862,800
Unrealized Gain	(6,197)	16,779
Market Value	54,929,766	$ 24,879,579
Certificates Of Deposit [Member]
Schedule Of Available For Sale Securities [Line Items]
Amortized Cost	25,021,192
Market Value	$ 25,021,192

Fair Value Measurement - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair value transfers, Level 1 to Level 2 assets	$ 0	$ 0
Fair value transfers, Level 2 to Level 1 assets	0	0
Fair value transfers, Level 1 to Level 2 liabilities	0	0
Fair value transfers, Level 2 to Level 1 liabilities	0	$ 0
Assets or liabilities measured at fair value on a non-recurring basis.	$ 0

Property and Equipment, Net - Summary of Property and Equipment, Net (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	$ 2,655,731	$ 2,451,775
Less accumulated depreciation and amortization	(1,598,811)	(1,347,567)
Property and equipment, net	1,056,920	1,104,208
Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	125,538	121,491
Laboratory Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	959,585	926,590
Computers and Telecommunications [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	220,316	150,517
Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	64,409	25,069
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, at cost	$ 1,285,883	$ 1,228,108

Property and Equipment, Net - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]
Depreciation	$ 251,244	$ 239,821

Intangible Assets - Schedule of Intangible Assets (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Gross Carrying Value	$ 1,169,787	$ 1,031,323
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Accumulated Amortization	(764,908)	(718,095)
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Net Book Value	404,879	313,228
Total intangible assets, Gross Carrying Value	13,588,754	14,450,290
Intangible Assets, Impairment		(1,000,000)
Total intangible assets, Net Book Value	12,823,846	12,732,195
IPR&D [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Total intangible assets, Gross Carrying Value	12,418,967	13,418,967
Total intangible assets, Impairment		(1,000,000)
Total intangible assets, Net Book Value	12,418,967	12,418,967
Internally Developed Patents [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Gross Carrying Value	884,787	746,323
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Accumulated Amortization	(479,908)	(448,874)
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Net Book Value	$ 404,879	$ 297,449
Internally Developed Patents [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	6 years	6 years
Internally Developed Patents [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	10 years	10 years
Acquired Licenses [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Gross Carrying Value	$ 285,000	$ 285,000
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Accumulated Amortization	$ (285,000)	(269,221)
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Net Book Value		$ 15,779
Acquired Licenses [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	16 years	16 years
Acquired Licenses [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	20 years	20 years

Intangible Assets - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Impairment charge	$ 0	$ 1,000,000
Minimum [Member] \| IPR&D [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	15 years
Maximum [Member] \| IPR&D [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated Useful Lives	18 years
Research and Development [Member]
Schedule Of Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Amortization expense of intangible assets	$ 46,813	$ 147,500

Intangible Assets - Schedule of Future Estimated Amortization Expense (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
2021	$ 26,561
2022	26,561
2023	26,561
2024	22,655
2025	17,187
2026 and thereafter	285,354
Intangible assets subject to amortization, Net Book Value	$ 404,879	$ 313,228

Leases - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
Leases - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Non-cancellable lease maturity period	2022-12
Operating lease rent expense	$ 407,200	$ 346,603
Cash paid for operating lease liabilities	$ 391,090	$ 380,805

Leases - Summary of Supplemental other Information Related to Operating Leases Balance Sheet (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
Operating lease obligations (see Note 7 and 9)	$ 1,824,840	$ 1,744,128
Operating Lease, Liability, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:OtherLiabilitiesMember	us-gaap:OtherLiabilitiesMember
Right of use asset	$ 903,825	$ 698,321
Weighted-average remaining lease term	4 years 3 months 29 days	5 years 3 months 29 days
Weighted-average discount rate	7.30%	8.00%

Leases - Summary of Maturities of Lease Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Leases [Abstract]
2021	$ 475,372
2022	484,484
2023	493,868
2024	503,535
2025	168,929
Total operating lease payments	2,126,188
Less: imputed interest	(301,348)
Total operating lease liabilities (see Note 7 and 9)	$ 1,824,840	$ 1,744,128

Accrued Expenses and Other Current Liabilities - Schedule of Accrued Expense and Other Current Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Accrued Liabilities And Other Liabilities [Abstract]
Accrued professional services	$ 1,350,194	$ 429,467
Accrued payroll and employee benefits	2,351,599	1,183,130
Accrued interest	13,016	5,047
Accrued research and development	7,316,876	1,966,111
Lease obligation, current portion (see Note 6)	$ 356,716	$ 259,449
Operating Lease, Liability, Current, Statement of Financial Position [Extensible List]	us-gaap:OtherCurrentLiabilitiesMember	us-gaap:OtherCurrentLiabilitiesMember
Deferred revenue	$ 19,753	$ 61,563
Total accrued expenses	$ 11,408,154	$ 3,904,767

Contingent Consideration - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Nov. 03, 2020	Jul. 12, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Future contingent payments			$ 5,390,000	$ 5,390,000	$ 2,750,000
Change in value of contingent consideration for acquired in-process research and development				$ 16,265,010
Clinical Trial Notification [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Up-front consideration	$ 13,600,000
Consideration amount	$ 9.57
Shares issued for contingent milestone payment	1,694,906
Period for submission of clinical trial notification	60 days
Submission date of clinical trial notification	Oct. 29, 2020
Regulatory Milestones [Member] \| Clinical Trial Notification [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Change in value of contingent consideration for acquired in-process research and development			$ 5,400,000
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Agreement date		Jul. 08, 2019
Unregistered shares of common stock		1,887,250
Up-front consideration		$ 5,000,000			4,300,000
Transaction cost recorded within research and development expense					700,000
In-process research and development costs					$ 2,800,000
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member] \| Investigational New Drug Application Milestone [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Future contingent payments		$ 5,000,000
Future contingent payment term		60 days
Number of consecutive trading days		20 days
Consideration amount		$ 2.95
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member] \| Investigational New Drug Application and Regulatory Milestones [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Future contingent payments		$ 3,000,000
Future contingent payment term		60 days
Number of consecutive trading days		20 days
Consideration amount		$ 3.54
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member] \| Sales Milestones [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Future contingent payments		$ 80,000,000
License agreement term		10 years
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member] \| Regulatory Milestones [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Upfront consideration release at 3 months		50.00%
Upfront consideration release at 6 months		50.00%
Spitfire Pharma, Inc. [Member] \| Common Stock [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Future contingent payments		$ 88,000,000

Contingent Consideration - Summary of Fair Value of Contingent Consideration (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Business Combinations [Abstract]
Beginning balance	$ 2,750,000
Acquisition date fair value		$ 2,750,000
Changes in fair value of contingent consideration liability	16,265,010
Fair value of payments settled in common stock (IND Milestone)	(13,625,010)
Ending balance	$ 5,390,000	$ 2,750,000

Notes Payable and Other Liabilities - Additional Information (Detail)			12 Months Ended
	Apr. 13, 2020 USD ($)	Jun. 05, 2019 EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2020 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($) FundingArrangement Grant	Dec. 31, 2019 EUR (€) FundingArrangement Grant	Dec. 31, 2019 EUR (€)
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revenues			$ 8,185,027	$ 5,801,401
Repayments of notes payable			632,000	292,002
Economic conditional incentive grants			250,000	250,000
Interest expense			9,421	$ 2,244
Montgomery County [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Expiration date of economic conditional incentive grant				Feb. 28, 2028	Feb. 28, 2028
State of Maryland [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Expiration date of economic conditional incentive grant				Dec. 31, 2029	Dec. 31, 2029
Economic incentive grant term				10 years	10 years
Montgomery County and State of Maryland [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Economic conditional incentive grants				$ 250,000
Number of economic conditional incentive grants \| Grant				2	2
Interest expense			$ 12,625	$ 5,042
Accrued interest rate on grant			3.00%	3.00%	3.00%
Paycheck Protection Program Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Proceeds from unsecured loan	$ 632,000
Maturity date			Apr. 07, 2022
Interest rate			1.00%
BPI France Notes [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Number of non-interest bearing research and development funding arrangements \| FundingArrangement				2	2
Percentage of fund to be withdrawn upon signing of arrangements				50.00%	50.00%
Additional percentage of fund to be withdrawn, contingent upon financial audit and technical progress report				30.00%	30.00%
Research and development funding arrangements extended period				2 years	2 years
Total long-term debt \| €						€ 500,000
Revenues				$ 265,540	€ 238,229
Paid in excess of allowable funding amount \| €		€ 102,951
Repayments of notes payable				292,002
BPI France Notes [Member] \| Research Funding First Arrangement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount \| €						750,000
BPI France Notes [Member] \| Research Funding Second Arrangement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, face amount \| €						€ 250,000
BPI France Notes [Member] \| Grant [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Long-term debt converted amount				$ 265,540	€ 238,229

Notes Payable and Other Liabilities - Summary of Long-term Portion of Outstanding Notes Payable as well as Other Long-Term Liabilities (Detail) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Notes Payable And Other Liabilities Disclosure [Abstract]
Lease obligation, long-term portion (see Note 6)	$ 1,468,124	$ 1,484,679
Operating lease, liability, statement of financial position [extensible list]	us-gaap:OtherNoncurrentLiabilitiesMember	us-gaap:OtherNoncurrentLiabilitiesMember
Conditional economic incentive grants	$ 250,000	$ 250,000
Other	110,319	130,196
Total other long-term liabilities	$ 1,828,443	$ 1,864,875

Common Stock - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)					12 Months Ended
	Jul. 16, 2020	Jun. 01, 2020	Mar. 27, 2020	Mar. 12, 2019	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock, net (in shares)	3,369,564
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in public offering, net					$ 48,156,072
Common stock, par or stated value per share					$ 0.0001	$ 0.0001
Shares of common stock sold	3,369,564
Pre-Funded Warrants [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Number of securities called by warrants or rights					0
Number of securities called by warrants or rights					0
Public Offering [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Gross proceeds from offering including exercise of underwriter's option	$ 132,200,000
Public Offering [Member] \| Pre-Funded Warrants [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants or rights	$ 0.0001
Purchase price of warrants issued	$ 22.9999
Ownership percentage on exercise of warrants without notice, minimum	4.99%
Ownership percentage on exercise of warrants with notice, maximum	19.99%
Notice period to increase ownership percentage on exercise of warrants	61 days
Per share exercise price	$ 0.0001
Public Offering [Member] \| Common Stock [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Public offering price, per share	$ 23.00
Public Offering [Member] \| Common Stock [Member] \| Pre-Funded Warrants [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Number of securities called by warrants or rights	1,630,436
Number of securities called by warrants or rights	1,630,436
Over-Allotment Option [Member] \| Common Stock [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock, net (in shares)	750,000
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in public offering, net	$ 124,000,000
Shares of common stock sold	750,000
At-The-Market Offering [Member] \| Equity Distribution Agreement [Member] \| JMP Securities LLC [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock, net (in shares)					5,594,455
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in public offering, net					$ 48,200,000
Common stock, par or stated value per share			$ 0.0001
Aggregate offering price		$ 50,000,000	$ 18,900,000
Shares of common stock sold					5,594,455
Issuance costs					$ 300,000
At-The-Market Offering [Member] \| Equity Distribution Agreement [Member] \| JMP Securities LLC [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Aggregate offering price			$ 50,000,000
Registered Direct Offering [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Proceeds from issuance of common stock in public offering, net				$ 12,700,000
Issuance of transaction date				Mar. 12, 2019
Common units outstanding				4,361,370
Warrant expiration period				5 years
Deemed Dividend						$ 452,925
Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants or rights				$ 4.1798		$ 4.1798
Per share exercise price				4.1798		4.1798
Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Per share exercise price				$ 2.7568		$ 2.7568
Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Common Units [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Number of securities called by warrants or rights				0.70
Number of securities called by warrants or rights				0.70
Public offering price per share				$ 3.21
Per share exercise price				$ 3.21
Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Prefunded Units [Member]
Changes In Equity And Comprehensive Income Line Items [Line Items]
Number of securities called by warrants or rights				0.70
Exercise price of warrants or rights				$ 0.01
Number of securities called by warrants or rights				0.70
Public offering price per share				$ 3.20
Per share exercise price				3.21
Per share exercise price				$ 0.01

Warrants - Summary of Common Stock Warrants Outstanding (Detail) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Oct. 02, 2018
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	1,777,611	10,384,706	7,344,297
Replacement Warrants [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	155	155
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 483.00	$ 483.00
Issuance Date	Mar. 03, 2012	Mar. 03, 2012
Expiration Date	Mar. 03, 2022	Mar. 03, 2022
Warrants Issued with Redeemable Preferred [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	1,420	62
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 3.50	$ 80.10
Issuance Date	Aug. 16, 2017	Aug. 16, 2017
Expiration Date	Aug. 16, 2022	Aug. 16, 2022
Warrants Issued With Common Units In 2018 Unit Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	3,300	2,505,250
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 2.7568	$ 2.7568
Issuance Date	Oct. 02, 2018	Oct. 02, 2018
Expiration Date	Oct. 02, 2023	Oct. 02, 2023
Underwriter Warrant Issued In 2018 Unit Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants		196,650		196,650
Per Share Exercise Price		$ 6.25
Issuance Date		Oct. 02, 2018
Expiration Date		Sep. 28, 2021
Issued With Common Units In 2018 Registered Direct Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	92,300	4,629,630
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 5.40	$ 5.40
Issuance Date	Oct. 10, 2018	Oct. 10, 2018
Expiration Date	Oct. 10, 2023	Oct. 10, 2023
Issued with Common Units in Registered Direct Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	50,000	3,052,959
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 3.21	$ 3.21
Issuance Date	Mar. 12, 2019	Mar. 12, 2019
Expiration Date	Mar. 12, 2024	Mar. 12, 2024
Issued with Common Units in Public Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Common Stock Warrants	1,630,436
Per Share Exercise Price	$ 0.0001
Issuance Date	Jul. 16, 2020

Warrants - Additional Information (Detail) - $ / shares			1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Warrants - Additional Information (Detail) - $ / shares	Oct. 10, 2018	Oct. 02, 2018	Aug. 31, 2017	May 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Dec. 31, 2018
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Replacement warrants issued in connection with the Mergers				155
Issuances			78,181		1,631,794	3,052,959
Warrants outstanding					1,777,611	10,384,706		7,344,297
Common stock, shares issued					37,142,946	15,312,381
Number of Common Stock Warrants					1,777,611	10,384,706		7,344,297
2018 Unit Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Common units outstanding		2,400,000
Exercise price of warrants or rights		$ 6.00
Issuance of transaction date		Oct. 02, 2018
2018 Unit Offering [Member] \| Common Units [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Public offering price per share		$ 5.00
Exercise price of warrants or rights		$ 6.00
Warrant expiration period		5 years
2018 Unit Offering [Member] \| Prefunded Units [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Public offering price per share		$ 4.99
Exercise price of warrants or rights		$ 0.01
Two Thousand Eighteen Registered Direct Offering
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Common units outstanding	4,629,630
Exercise price of warrants or rights	$ 5.40
Issuance of transaction date	Oct. 10, 2018
Two Thousand Eighteen Registered Direct Offering \| Common Units [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Public offering price per share	$ 5.40
Exercise price of warrants or rights	$ 5.40
Warrant expiration period	5 years
Two Thousand Eighteen Registered Direct Offering \| Prefunded Units [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Public offering price per share	$ 5.39
Exercise price of warrants or rights	0.01
Redeemable Preferred Stock Warrants [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Conversion of warrants into common stock and cash						1,550
Warrants outstanding						62
Common stock, shares issued							62
Number of Common Stock Warrants						62
Redeemable Preferred Stock Warrants [Member] \| Market Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding							1,420
Number of Common Stock Warrants							1,420
Underwriter Warrant Issued In 2018 Unit Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding		196,650				196,650
Exercise price of warrants or rights						$ 6.25
Number of Common Stock Warrants		196,650				196,650
Public offering price per share		125.00%
Issued With Common Units In 2018 Registered Direct Offering [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding					92,300	4,629,630
Exercise price of warrants or rights					$ 5.40	$ 5.40
Number of Common Stock Warrants					92,300	4,629,630
Issued With Common Units In 2018 Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants or rights	6.00
Issued With Common Units In 2018 Registered Direct Offering [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Exercise price of warrants or rights	$ 4.1798

Warrants - Summary of Warrant Activity (Detail) - shares	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Equity [Abstract]
Warrants outstanding, beginning		10,384,706	7,344,297
Issuances	78,181	1,631,794	3,052,959
Exercises		(10,238,889)	(12,550)
Warrants outstanding, ending		1,777,611	10,384,706

Stock-Based Compensation - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)				1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Mar. 29, 2019	Nov. 30, 2018	Oct. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Nov. 29, 2018
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Stock Options, Granted						708,000
Issuance of common stock from exercise of stock options (in shares)						46,966
Stock-based compensation expense						$ 2,576,006	$ 1,264,231
Issuance of common stock from Employee Stock Purchase Plan						$ 135,471
Stock Options [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Weighted-average grant date fair value of stock options granted						$ 4.75	$ 2.67
Unrecognized compensation cost, stock options						$ 2,700,000
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense, period for recognition						2 years 4 months 24 days
Weighted-average Intrinsic Value, Exercised						$ 900,000
Issuance of common stock from exercise of stock options (in shares)							0
Fair value of award vested						$ 1,100,000	$ 1,000,000
Restricted Stock [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Unrecognized stock-based compensation expense, period for recognition						2 years 1 month 6 days
Restricted stock authorized and granted	15,000	109,525			2,651
Restricted stock authorized and granted, value					$ 1,067
Weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock award	$ 14.35	$ 9.19			$ 310.80
Restricted stock vesting period	4 years	3 months			4 years
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, award vesting rights, percentage					50.00%
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, shares vesting date	Sep. 22, 2024
Unrecognized compensation expense						$ 700,000
Restricted Stock [Member] \| One Year Anniversary [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, award vesting rights, percentage	25.00%
Restricted Stock [Member] \| 36 Substantially Equal Monthly Installments
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, award vesting rights, percentage	75.00%
Restricted Stock [Member] \| October 2016 [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of share vested						213
Restricted Stock [Member] \| November 30, 2018 [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair value of restricted shares that vested						$ 800,000
Number of share vested						80,727
Restricted Stock [Member] \| June 30, 2020 [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair value of restricted shares that vested						$ 1,300,000
Number of share vested						109,525
Restricted Stock [Member] \| September 30, 2020 [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of share vested						0
Executive Officer [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock authorized and granted				322,907		124,525
Weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock award				$ 3.59		$ 9.81
Restricted stock vesting period				4 years
Number of share vested						190,465
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, shares vesting date				Dec. 01, 2022
Executive Officer [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member] \| One Year Anniversary [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, award vesting rights, percentage				25.00%
Executive Officer [Member] \| Restricted Stock [Member] \| 36 Substantially Equal Monthly Installments
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Share-based compensation arrangement by share-based payment award, award vesting rights, percentage				75.00%
Common Stock [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Stock Options, Granted						708,000
Issuance of common stock from exercise of stock options (in shares)						46,966
Issuance of common stock from Employee Stock Purchase Plan						$ 8
2001 Employee Stock Option Plan [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Stock Options, Granted						0
2007 Long Term Incentive Plan [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Stock Options, Granted						0
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares reserved for future issuance, description						The aggregate share reserve will be increased on January 1 of each year commencing in 2018 and ending on and including January 1, 2027 up to an amount equal to the lowest of (i) 4% of the total number of shares of common stock outstanding on a fully diluted basis as of December 31 of the immediately preceding calendar year, and (ii) such number of shares of common stock, if any, determined by the Company’s board of directors.
Percentage of additional shares from common stock available for stock-based compensation						4.00%
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance						1,500,000
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance						5,000,000
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member] \| Common Stock [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance						324,710
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member] \| Common Stock [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock granted, shares						800,000
Stock granted value						$ 5,000,000
2017 Omnibus Incentive Plan [Member] \| Common Stock [Member] \| Maximum [Member] \| Director [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock granted, shares						500,000
2018 Inducement Grant Plan [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance								2,000,000
2018 Inducement Grant Plan [Member] \| Common Stock [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance						1,517,001
2019 Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Common stock reserved for future issuance			403,500
Percent of payroll deductions			10.00%
Percentage of discount from fair market value of common stock on first or last trading day of offering period			85.00%
Stock-based compensation expense						$ 158,177	$ 21,608
Stock purchased by employee						92,661
Issuance of common stock from Employee Stock Purchase Plan						$ 135,466

Stock-Based Compensation - Summary of Fair Value of Stock Options Issued to Employees (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Fair Value Assumptions and Methodology [Abstract]
Expected volatility	102.35%	92.68%
Expected term (years)	5 years 10 months 17 days	5 years 10 months 21 days
Risk-free interest rate	1.24%	2.17%
Expected dividend yield	0.00%	0.00%

Stock-Based Compensation - Schedule of Information Related to Stock Options Outstanding (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]
Number of Stock Options, Outstanding	973,172
Number of Stock Options, Granted	708,000
Number of Stock Options, Exercised	(46,966)
Number of Stock Options, Forfeited or expired	(7,454)
Number of Stock Options, Outstanding	1,626,752	973,172
Number of Stock Options, Exercisable	550,518
Number of Stock Options, Expected to vest	968,611
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Outstanding	$ 4.36
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Granted	4.75
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Exercised	2.74
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Forfeited or expired	6.48
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Outstanding	4.58	$ 4.36
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Exercisable	5.93
Weighted-average Exercise Price, Expected to vest	$ 3.88
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Term, Outstanding	5 years 10 months 25 days	5 years 10 months 28 days
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Term, Exercisable	5 years 8 months 26 days
Weighted-average Remaining Contractual Term, Expected to vest	5 years 11 months 23 days
Weighted-average Intrinsic Value, Outstanding	$ 12,234,740
Weighted-average Intrinsic Value, Exercisable	4,104,806
Weighted-average Intrinsic Value, Expected to vest	$ 8,129,935

Stock-Based Compensation - Summary of Restricted Stock Activity (Detail) - Restricted Stock [Member] - $ / shares			1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2020	Nov. 30, 2018	Oct. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2020
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Restricted stock authorized and granted	15,000	109,525		2,651
Weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock award	$ 14.35	$ 9.19		$ 310.80
Executive Officer [Member]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement By Share Based Payment Award [Line Items]
Unvested Shares, Beginning balance					235,666
Restricted stock authorized and granted			322,907		124,525
Vested Shares					(190,465)
Unvested Shares, Ending balance					169,726
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value Unvested, beginning balance					$ 3.87
Weighted average grant date fair value of restricted stock award			$ 3.59		9.81
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value Vested					7.15
Weighted-average Grant Date Fair Value Unvested, Ending balance					$ 4.54

Stock-Based Compensation - Schedule of Stock-based Compensation Expense (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Compensation Cost [Line Items]
Stock based compensation expense	$ 2,576,006	$ 1,264,231
Research and Development [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Compensation Cost [Line Items]
Stock based compensation expense	357,762	356,718
General and Administrative [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Compensation Cost [Line Items]
Stock based compensation expense	$ 2,218,244	$ 907,513

U.S. Government Contracts and Grants - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)		1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jan. 01, 2021	Jun. 30, 2020	Jul. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Revenues				$ 8,185,027	$ 5,801,401
BARDA Contract [Member]
Duration of contract	3 years		5 years
Amount used to fund clinical development			$ 133,700,000
BARDA Contract [Member] \| Minimum [Member]
Additional funding for development and manufacturing activities	$ 1,100,000
BARDA Contract [Member] \| Maximum [Member]
Additional funding for development and manufacturing activities	$ 34,400,000
MTEC Collaborative Arrangement [Member]
Revenues		$ 4,700,000
Grant [Member] \| BARDA Contract [Member]
Revenues				3,100,000	$ 5,300,000
Grant [Member] \| MTEC Collaborative Arrangement [Member]
Revenues				$ 4,200,000
Investment Performance [Member] \| BARDA Contract [Member]
Revenues			$ 27,800,000

Employee Benefit Plans - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Defined Contribution Pension And Other Postretirement Plans Disclosure1 [Abstract]
Discretionary plan contributions	$ 170,727	$ 131,412

Income Taxes - Components of Net Loss Before Income Tax Benefit (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
U.S. operations	$ (50,735,735)	$ (18,562,738)
Non-U.S. operations	(3,725,766)	(2,015,893)
Net loss before income tax benefit	$ (54,461,501)	$ (20,578,631)

Amount of income (loss) from continuing operations, including income (loss) from equity method investments, before deduction of income tax expense (benefit), and income (loss) attributable to noncontrolling interest.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 32
-Subparagraph (c)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8933-108599

Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 30
-Subparagraph (b)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8906-108599

Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 32
-Subparagraph (f)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8933-108599

Reference 4: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 940
-SubTopic 20
-Section 25
-Paragraph 1
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=68072869&loc=d3e41242-110953

Reference 5: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 22
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8736-108599

Reference 6: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
-Subparagraph (SX 210.5-03(10))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120395209&loc=SL114868664-224227

Reference 7: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 944
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.7-04(8))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120400993&loc=SL114874131-224263

Reference 8: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/disclosureRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 235
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-05(b)(2))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120399901&loc=d3e537907-122884

Reference 9: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/exampleRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 280
-SubTopic 10
-Section 50
-Paragraph 31
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120311839&loc=d3e8924-108599

Reference 10: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 942
-SubTopic 220
-Section S99
-Paragraph 1
-Subparagraph (SX 210.9-04(15))
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=120399700&loc=SL114874048-224260

+ Details

Income Taxes - Components of Income Tax Benefits (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019
U.S. federal
Current	$ 4,706,092
Deferred		$ 45,465
U.S. state and local
Current	710,932
Deferred		13,035
Income tax benefit	$ 5,417,024	$ 58,500

Amount of current income tax expense (benefit) and deferred income tax expense (benefit) pertaining to continuing operations.