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Organization and summary of significant accounting policies (Policy)
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12 Months Ended | ||||||||
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Dec. 31, 2013
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| Organization and summary of significant accounting policies [Abstract] | |||||||||
| Nature of operations |
Nature of operations: Venaxis, Inc. (the "Company" or "Venaxis") was organized on July 24, 2000, as a Colorado corporation. In December 2012, the Company's name was changed to Venaxis, Inc., from AspenBio Pharma, Inc. Venaxis' business is in the development and commercialization of innovative products that address unmet diagnostic and therapeutic needs. The Company's lead product candidate, APPY1, is designed to be a novel blood-based diagnostic test that, if successfully cleared to be marketed by the United States Food and Drug Administration ("FDA"), will aid, through the test's negative predictive value, in the evaluation of low risk patients initially suspected of having acute appendicitis, thereby helping address the difficult challenge of triaging possible acute appendicitis patients in the hospital emergency department settings. The Company's research, development and commercial activities are currently focused primarily on a human acute appendicitis blood-based test.
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| Management's plans and basis of presentation |
Management's plans and basis of presentation: The Company has experienced recurring losses and negative cash flows from operations. At December 31, 2013, the Company had approximate balances of cash and liquid investments of $14,301,000, working capital of $12,512,000, total stockholders' equity of $12,950,000 and an accumulated deficit of $86,382,000. To date, the Company has in large part relied on equity financing to fund its operations. The Company expects to continue to incur losses from operations for the near-term and these losses could be significant as product development, regulatory activities, contract consulting and other commercial and product development related expenses are incurred. The Company believes that its current working capital position will be sufficient to meet its estimated cash needs for the remainder of 2014 and into early 2015. If the Company does not obtain the FDA clearance, the Company would potentially be required to change the scope of its product development activities, change its strategic focus or cease operations. The Company continues to explore obtaining additional financing. The Company is closely monitoring its cash balances, cash needs and expense levels. Management's strategic plans include the following:
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| Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments |
Cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments: The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of three months or less at the date of acquisition to be cash equivalents. From time to time, the Company's cash account balances exceed the balances as covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance System. The Company has never suffered a loss due to such excess balances. The Company invests excess cash from time to time in highly-liquid debt and equity investments of highly-rated entities which are classified as trading securities. The purpose of the investments is to fund research and development, product development, FDA approval-related activities and general corporate purposes. Such amounts are recorded at market values using Level 1 inputs in determining fair value and are classified as current, as the Company does not intend to hold the investments beyond twelve months. Investment securities classified as trading are those securities that are bought and held principally for the purpose of selling them in the near term, with the objective of preserving principal and generating profits. These securities are reported at fair value with unrealized gains and losses reported as an element of other income (expense) in current period earnings. The Board of Directors has approved an investment policy covering the investment parameters to be followed with the primary goals being the safety of principal amounts and maintaining liquidity of the fund. The policy provides for minimum investment rating requirements as well as limitations on investment duration and concentrations. Based upon market conditions, the investment guidelines have been tightened to increase the minimum acceptable investment ratings required for investments and shorten the maximum investment term. As of December 31, 2013, 30% of the investment portfolio was in cash equivalents, which is presented as such on the accompanying balance sheet, and the remaining funds were invested in short-term marketable securities with none individually representing a material amount to the portfolio and none with maturities past September 2014. To date, the Company's cumulative realized market loss from the investments has not been significant. For the year ended December 31, 2013, there was $71,000 in unrealized loss, $152,000 in realized loss for the year and $19,000 in management fees. For the year ended December 31, 2012, there was $11,192 in unrealized loss, $102 in realized gain for the year and $5,532 in management fees. For the year ended December 31, 2011, there was $1,004 in unrealized loss, $3,505 in realized loss, $1,073 in realized gain for the year and $9,248 in management fees.
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| Fair value of financial instruments |
Fair value of financial instruments: The Company accounts for financial instruments under Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) Accounting Standards Codification Topic (ASC) 820, Fair Value Measurements. This statement defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value in generally accepted accounting principles, and expands disclosures about fair value measurements. To increase consistency and comparability in fair value measurements, ASC 820 establishes a fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to measure fair value into three levels as follows:
Observable inputs are based on market data obtained from independent sources, while unobservable inputs are based on the Company's market assumptions. Unobservable inputs require significant management judgment or estimation. In some cases, the inputs used to measure an asset or liability may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In those instances, the fair value measurement is required to be classified using the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. Such determination requires significant management judgment. There were no financial assets or liabilities measured at fair value, with the exception of cash, cash equivalents (level 1) and short-term investments (level 2) as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. The carrying amounts of the Company's financial instruments (other than cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as discussed above) approximate fair value because of their variable interest rates and / or short maturities combined with the recent historical interest rate levels.
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| Revenue recognition and accounts receivable |
Revenue recognition and accounts receivable: We recognize sales of goods under the provisions of the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 605 ("ASC 605") and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Staff Accounting Bulletin (SAB) 104, Revenue Recognition. Future revenue is expected to be generated primarily from the sale of products. Product revenue primarily consists of sales of instrumentation and consumables. Revenue is recognized when the following four basic criteria have been met: (i) persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists; (ii) delivery has occurred and risk of loss has passed; (iii) the seller's price to the buyer is fixed or determinable; and (iv) collectability is reasonably assured. In international markets, the Company sells its products to distributors or re-sellers, who subsequently resell the products to hospitals. The Company has an agreement with the distributor which provides that title and risk of loss pass to the distributor upon shipment of the products, FOB to the distributor. Revenue is recognized upon shipment of products to the distributor as the products are shipped based on FOB shipping point terms. Revenues are recorded less a reserve for estimated product returns and allowances which to date has not been significant. Determination of the reserve for estimated product returns and allowances is based on management's analyses and judgments regarding certain conditions. Should future changes in conditions prove management's conclusions and judgments on previous analyses to be incorrect, revenue recognized for any reporting period could be adversely affected. The Company extends credit to customers generally without requiring collateral. As of December 31, 2013, accounts receivable of $17,000, net of a $15,000 allowance for uncollectible accounts, has been included with prepaid expenses and other current assets on the accompanying balance sheet. At December 31, 2013, two customers accounted for 38% and 62% of total accounts receivable. At December 31, 2012, the Company did not have any accounts receivable. During the year ended December 31, 2013, three European-based customers accounted for the total net sales, each representing 43%, 35% and 22%, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2012, three customers accounted for a total of 83% of net sales, each representing 40%, 30% and 13%, respectively. During the year ended December 31, 2011, two customers accounted for a total of 42% of net sales, each representing 28% and 14%, respectively. The Company monitors its exposure for credit losses and maintains allowances for anticipated losses. The Company records an allowance for doubtful accounts when it is probable that the accounts receivable balance will not be collected. When estimating the allowance, the Company takes into consideration such factors as its day-to-day knowledge of the financial position of specific clients, the industry and size of its clients. A financial decline of any one of the Company's large clients could have an adverse and material effect on the collectability of receivables and thus the adequacy of the allowance for doubtful accounts receivable. Increases in the allowance are recorded as charges to bad debt expense and are reflected in other operating expenses in the Company's statements of operations. Write-offs of uncollectible accounts are charged against the allowance.
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| Property and equipment |
Property and equipment: Property and equipment is stated at cost and depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally twenty-five years for the building, ten years for land improvements, five years for equipment and three years for computer related assets.
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| Goodwill |
Goodwill: Goodwill, arose from the initial formation of the Company, and represents the purchase price paid and liabilities assumed in excess of the fair market value of tangible assets acquired. The Company performs a goodwill impairment analysis in the fourth quarter of each year, or whenever there is an indication of impairment. When conducting its annual goodwill impairment assessment, the Company initially performs a qualitative evaluation to determine if it is more likely than not that the fair value of its reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform a two-step goodwill impairment test. The Company has determined, based on its qualitative evaluation, that it was not necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test and that no impairment had occurred as of December 31, 2013.
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| Impairment of long-lived assets |
Impairment of long-lived assets: Management reviews long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of an asset to undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such assets are considered to be impaired, the impairment to be recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying amount of the assets exceeds the fair value of the assets. Based on its review, including an updated assessment subsequent to year end, management determined that certain costs previously incurred for patents had been impaired during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Approximately $33,000, $45,000 and $275,000 of such patent costs were determined to be impaired during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively resulting from management's decisions not to pursue patents based upon a cost benefit analysis of patent expenses and coverage protection in several smaller world markets that were determined to not have the economic or fiscal potential to make the patent pursuit viable. Impairment charges are included in research and development expenses in the accompanying statements of operations.
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| Research and development |
Research and development: Research and development costs are charged to expense as incurred.
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| Use of estimates |
Use of estimates: The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (GAAP) requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the balance sheet and the reported amounts of revenue and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ significantly from those estimates.
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| Income taxes |
Income taxes: The Company accounts for income taxes under the asset and liability method, in which deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the future tax consequences attributable to differences between the financial statement carrying amounts of existing assets and liabilities and their respective tax bases and operating loss and tax credit carry forwards. Deferred tax assets and liabilities are measured using enacted tax rates expected to apply to taxable income in the years in which those temporary differences are expected to be recovered or settled. The effect on deferred tax assets and liabilities of a change in tax rates is recognized in operations in the period that includes the enactment date. A valuation allowance is required to the extent any deferred tax assets may not be realizable. The Company does not have an accrual for uncertain tax positions as of December 31, 2013 and 2012. The Company files corporate income tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service and the states where the Company determines it is required to do so, and there are open statutes of limitations for tax authorities to audit the Company's tax returns from 2010 through the current period. The Company's policy is to recognize interest and penalties accrued on any unrecognized tax benefits as a component of income tax expense. At December 31, 2013, the Company did not have any accrued interest or penalties associated with any unrecognized tax benefits, nor was any interest expense recognized during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 or 2011.
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| Stock-based compensation |
Stock-based compensation: Venaxis recognizes the cost of employee services received in exchange for an award of equity instruments in the financial statements and is measured based on the grant date fair value of the award. Stock option compensation expense is recognized over the period during which an employee is required to provide service in exchange for the award (generally the vesting period). The Company estimates the fair value of each stock option at the grant date by using the Black-Scholes option pricing model.
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| Income (loss) per share |
Income (loss) per share: ASC 260, Earnings Per Share, requires dual presentation of basic and diluted earnings per share (EPS) with a reconciliation of the numerator and denominator of the basic EPS computation to the numerator and denominator of the diluted EPS computation. Basic EPS excludes dilution. Diluted EPS reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock or resulted in the issuance of common stock that then shared in the earnings of the entity. Basic earnings (loss) per share includes no dilution and is computed by dividing net earnings (loss) available to stockholders by the weighted average number of common shares outstanding for the period. Diluted earnings per share reflect the potential dilution of securities that could share in the Company's earnings (loss). The effect of the inclusion of the dilutive shares would have resulted in a decrease in loss per share during the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011. Accordingly, the weighted average shares outstanding have not been adjusted for dilutive shares. Outstanding stock options and warrants are not considered in the calculation, as the impact of the potential common shares (totaling approximately 5,841,000, 1,306,000 and 497,000 shares for each of the years ended December 31, 2013, 2012 and 2011, respectively) would be to decrease the net loss per share. In May 2012, the Board of Directors authorized a reverse stock split of the Company's common stock at a ratio of one-for-six, whereby each six shares of common stock were combined into one share of common stock (the "2012 Reverse Stock Split"). All historical references to shares and share amounts in this report have been retroactively revised to reflect the 2012 Reverse Stock Split.
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| Recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements |
Recently issued and adopted accounting pronouncements: The Company has evaluated all recently issued accounting pronouncements and believes such pronouncements do not have a material effect on the Company's financial statements.
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