Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Note 1 - The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

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Note 1 - The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies
12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2013
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]  
Note 1 - The Company and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

OXIS International, Inc. (collectively, “OXIS” or the “Company”) is engaged in the research, development and sale of products that counteract the harmful effects of “oxidative stress” and inflammation.  Oxidative stress refers to the situations in which the body’s antioxidant and other defensive abilities to combat free radicals (a.k.a. highly reactive species of oxygen and nitrogen) are overwhelmed and normal healthy balance is lost.  The Company’s current finished product and finished product candidates include therapeutic nutraceutical products, cosmeceutical products, functional foods and functional beverages. The Company also possesses intellectual property covering a number of proprietary compounds and formulations that may be out-licensed to biotech and pharmaceutical companies as drug candidates.  The Company’s primary focus currently is on products that incorporate the unique amino acid naturally occurring compound, L-Ergothioneine (“ERGO”), as a key component. Ergothioneine is produced only by microorganisms in soil and is not synthesized by humans, animals or plants.  The Company has spent approximately $75 million in researching and developing ERGO, and now owns a patented process to synthesize commercial quantities of ERGO in a highly stable form that is highly soluble and tasteless, making it suitable for use in combination with other nutraceuticals and botanicals in a wide variety of dietary supplements, functional foods and beverages, and topical anti-aging products including lotions and creams.

 

In 1965, the corporate predecessor of OXIS, Diagnostic Data, Inc. was incorporated in the State of California. Diagnostic Data changed its incorporation to the State of Delaware in 1972; and changed its name to DDI Pharmaceuticals, Inc. in 1985. In 1994, DDI Pharmaceuticals merged with International BioClinical, Inc. and Bioxytech S.A. and changed its name to OXIS International, Inc.

 

Going Concern

 

As shown in the accompanying consolidated financial statements, the Company has incurred an accumulated deficit of $89,467,000 through December 31, 2013.  On a consolidated basis, the Company had cash and cash equivalents of $43,000 at December 31, 2013. The Company's plan is to raise additional capital until such time that the Company generates sufficient revenues to cover its cash flow needs and/or it achieves profitability. However, the Company cannot assure that it will accomplish this task and there are many factors that may prevent the Company from reaching its goal of profitability.

 

The current rate of cash usage raises substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern, absent any sources of significant cash flows.  In an effort to mitigate this near-term concern the Company intends to seek additional equity or debt financing to obtain sufficient funds to sustain operations.  The Company plans to increase revenues by introducing new nutraceutical products primarily based on its ergothioneine assets.  However, the Company cannot provide assurance that it will successfully obtain equity or debt or other financing, if any, sufficient to finance its goals or that the Company will generate future product related revenues.  The Company’s financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded assets, or the amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary in the event that the Company cannot continue in existence.

 

Accounts receivable

 

The Company carries its accounts receivable at cost less an allowance for doubtful accounts. On a periodic basis, the Company evaluates its accounts receivable and establishes an allowance for doubtful accounts, based on a history of past write-offs and collections and current credit conditions.

  

Advertising and promotional fees

 

Advertising expenses consist primarily of costs incurred in the design, development, and printing of Company literature and marketing materials. The Company expenses all advertising expenditures as incurred. The Company's advertising expenses were $0 and $400,000 for the years ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

Basis of Consolidation and Comprehensive Income

 

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of OXIS International, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. The Company's financial statements are prepared using the accrual method of accounting.

 

Cash and Cash Equivalents

 

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less to be cash equivalents.

 

Concentrations of Credit Risk

 

The Company's cash and cash equivalents, marketable securities and accounts receivable are monitored for exposure to concentrations of credit risk. The Company maintains substantially all of its cash balances in a limited number of financial institutions.  The balances are each insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation up to $250,000.  Through December 31, 2013, all balances in U.S. non-interest bearing accounts are fully insured.  The Company had no balances in excess of this limit at December 31, 2013, although at times during the year, the Company may have exceeded the insured limits. Management monitors the amount of credit exposure related to accounts receivable on an ongoing basis and generally requires no collateral from customers. The Company maintains allowances for estimated probable losses, when applicable.

 

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

 

The carrying amounts of cash and cash equivalents, restricted cash, accounts receivable, inventory, accounts payable and accrued expenses approximate fair value because of the short-term nature of these instruments. The fair value of debt is based upon current interest rates for debt instruments with comparable maturities and characteristics and approximates the carrying amount.

 

Stock Based Compensation to Employees

 

The Company accounts for its stock-based compensation for employees in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 718.  The Company recognizes in the statement of operations the grant-date fair value of stock options and other equity-based compensation issued to employees and non-employees over the related vesting period.

 

The Company granted stock options to purchase 0 and 26,384,193 shares of the Company’s common stock to employees and directors during the year ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.  The fair values of employee stock options are estimated for the calculation of the pro forma adjustments at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions during 2013: expected volatility of 116%; average risk-free interest rate of 1.04% to 2.03%; initial expected life of 5 to 10 years; no expected dividend yield; and amortized over the vesting period of typically one to four years.  The Company reported an expense for share-based compensation for its employees and directors of $929,000 and $303,000 for the year ended December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

  

Inventories

 

The Company states its inventories at the lower of cost or market. Cost has been determined by using the first-in, first-out method. The physical count of inventory takes place at the end of the year, and the Company makes estimates of inventory at interim dates. The Company periodically reviews its reserves for slow moving and obsolete inventory and believes that such reserves are adequate at December 31, 2013. Below is a summary of inventory at December 31, 2013 and 2012, respectively.

 

 

             
    December 31, 2013     December 31, 2012  
Raw materials   $ 0     $ 0  
Work in process     0       0  
Finished goods     42,000       59,000  
    $ 42,000     $ 59,000  

 

Impairment of Long Lived Assets

 

The Company's long-lived assets  currently consist of capitalized patents  The Company evaluates its long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. If any of the Company's long-lived assets are considered to be impaired, the amount of impairment to be recognized is equal to the excess of the carrying amount of the assets over the fair value of the assets.

 

Income Taxes

 

The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability approach, whereby deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the estimated future tax effects, based on current enacted tax laws, of temporary differences between financial and tax reporting for current and prior periods. Deferred tax assets are reduced, if necessary, by a valuation allowance if the corresponding future tax benefits may not be realized.

 

Net Income (Loss) per Share

 

Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing the net loss for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing the net loss for the period by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding during the period, plus the potential dilutive effect of common shares issuable upon exercise or conversion of outstanding stock options and warrants during the period. The weighted average number of potentially dilutive common shares excluded from the calculation of net income (loss) per share totaled 676,367,257 in 2013 and 686,716,412 in 2012.

  

Patents

 

Acquired patents are capitalized at their acquisition cost or fair value. The legal costs, patent registration fees and models and drawings required for filing patent applications are capitalized if they relate to commercially viable technologies. Commercially viable technologies are those technologies that are projected to generate future positive cash flows in the near term. Legal costs associated with patent applications that are not determined to be commercially viable are expensed as incurred. All research and development costs incurred in developing the patentable idea are expensed as incurred. Legal fees from the costs incurred in successful defense to the extent of an evident increase in the value of the patents are capitalized.

 

Capitalized cost for pending patents are amortized on a straight-line basis over the remaining twenty year legal life of each patent after the costs have been incurred. Once each patent is issued, capitalized costs are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the patent's remaining statutory life, estimated economic life or ten years.

 

Property, Plant and Equipment

 

Property, plant and equipment is stated at cost. Depreciation is computed on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets, which are 3 to 10 years for machinery and equipment and the shorter of the lease term or estimated economic life for leasehold improvements.

 

Fair Value

 

The carrying amounts reported in the balance sheets for receivables and current liabilities each qualify as financial instruments and are a reasonable estimate of fair value because of the short period of time between the origination of such instruments and their expected realization and their current market rate of interest.  The three levels are defined as follows:

 

  · Level 1 inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices (unadjusted) for identical assets or liabilities in active markets. The Company’s Level 1 assets include cash equivalents, primarily institutional money market funds, whose carrying value represents fair value because of their short-term maturities of the investments held by these funds.

 

  · Level 2 inputs to the valuation methodology include quoted prices for similar assets and liabilities in active markets, and inputs that are observable for the asset or liability, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the financial instrument. The Company’s Level 2 liabilities consist of liabilities arising from the issuance of convertible securities and in accordance with ASC 815-40: a warrant liability for detachable warrants, as well as an accrued derivative liability for the beneficial conversion feature. These liabilities are remeasured each reporting period. Fair value is determined using the Black-Scholes valuation model based on observable market inputs, such as share price data and a discount rate consistent with that of a government-issued security of a similar maturity.

 

  · Level 3 inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to the fair value measurement.

  

The following table represents the Company’s assets and liabilities by level measured at fair value on a recurring basis at December 31, 2013.

 

Description   Level 1     Level 2     Level 3  
                   
Assets                  
    $     $     $  
Liabilities                        
Warrant liability           109,000        

 

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

 

On May 28, 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update No. 2014-09 (ASU 2014-09), Revenue from Contracts with Customers.  ASU 2014-09 will eliminate transaction- and industry-specific revenue recognition guidance under current U.S. GAAP and replace it with a principle based approach for determining revenue recognition.  ASU 2014-09 will require that companies recognize revenue based on the value of transferred goods or services as they occur in the contract.  The ASU also will require additional disclosure about the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue and cash flows arising from customer contracts, including significant judgments and changes in judgments and assets recognized from costs incurred to obtain or fulfill a contract.  ASU 2014-09 is effective for reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016, and early adoption is not permitted.  Entities can transition to the standard either retrospectively or as a cumulative-effect adjustment as of the date of adoption.  Management has not determined the effect of adopting ASU 2014-09 on our ongoing financial reporting.

 

In April 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2014-08, "Presentation of Financial Statements (Topic 205) and Property, Plant and Equipment (Topic 360)."  ASU 2014-08 amends the requirements for reporting discontinued operations and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations.  Under the new guidance, only disposals representing a strategic shift in operations or that have a major effect on the Company's operations and financial results should be presented as discontinued operations.  This new accounting guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2014.

Other recent accounting pronouncements issued by the FASB, including its Emerging Issues Task Force, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, and the Securities and Exchange Commission did not or are not believed by management to have a material impact on the Company's present or future financial statements.

 

Management does not believe that any recently issued, but not yet effective accounting pronouncements, if adopted, would have a material effect on the Company’s financial position or results of operations.

 

Research and Development

 

Research and development costs are expensed as incurred and reported as research and development expense.

  

Revenue Recognition

 

Product Revenue

 

The Company manufactures, or has manufactured on a contract basis, fine chemicals and nutraceutical products, which are its primary products to be sold to customers. Revenue from the sale of its products, including shipping fees, will be recognized when title to the products is transferred to the customer which usually occurs upon shipment or delivery, depending upon the terms of the sales order and when collectability is reasonably assured. Revenue from sales to distributors of its products will be recognized, net of allowances, upon delivery of product to the distributors. According to the terms of individual distributor contracts, a distributor may return product up to a maximum amount and under certain conditions contained in its contract. Allowances are calculated based upon historical data, current economic conditions and the underlying contractual terms.

 

License Revenue

 

License arrangements may consist of non-refundable upfront license fees, exclusive licensed rights to patented or patent pending technology, and various performance or sales milestones and future product royalty payments. Some of these arrangements are multiple element arrangements.

 

Non-refundable, up-front fees that are not contingent on any future performance by us, and require no consequential continuing involvement on our part, are recognized as revenue when the license term commences and the licensed data, technology and/or compound is delivered.  We defer recognition of non-refundable upfront fees if we have continuing performance obligations without which the technology, right, product or service conveyed in conjunction with the non-refundable fee has no utility to the licensee that is separate and independent of our performance under the other elements of the arrangement. In addition, if we have continuing involvement through research and development services that are required because our know-how and expertise related to the technology is proprietary to us, or can only be performed by us, then such up-front fees are deferred and recognized over the period of continuing involvement.

 

Payments related to substantive, performance-based milestones in a research and development arrangement are recognized as revenue upon the achievement of the milestones as specified in the underlying agreements when they represent the culmination of the earnings process.

 

Segment Reporting

 

The Company operates in one reportable segment.

 

Use of Estimates

 

The financial statements and notes are representations of the Company's management, which is responsible for their integrity and objectivity. These accounting policies conform to accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America, and have been consistently applied in the preparation of the financial statements. The preparation of financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities revenues and expenses and disclosures of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements. Actual results could differ from those estimates.