Cardiff Oncology Inc

1. Business Overview and Liquidity

Business Organization and Overview

Cardiff Oncology, Inc. (“Cardiff Oncology” or the “Company”) headquartered in San Diego, California, is a clinical-stage biotechnology company leveraging Polo-like Kinase 1 (“PLK1”) inhibition to develop novel therapies across a range of cancers. The Company’s lead asset is onvansertib, a PLK1 inhibitor that is being evaluated in combination with standard of care therapies in clinical programs targeting indications such as RAS-mutated metastatic colorectal cancer (“mCRC”), as well as investigator-initiated trials in metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (“mPDAC”), small cell lung cancer (“SCLC”), and triple negative breast cancer (“TNBC”). These programs and the Company’s broader development strategy are designed to target tumor vulnerabilities in order to overcome treatment resistance and deliver superior clinical benefit compared to the standard of care alone. The Company's common stock is listed on the Nasdaq Capital Market under the ticker symbol "CRDF".

Liquidity

The Company has incurred net losses since its inception and has negative operating cash flows. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had $74.8 million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and believes it has sufficient cash to meet its funding requirements for at least the next 12 months following the issuance date of these financial statements.

For the foreseeable future, the Company expects to continue to incur losses and require additional capital to further advance its clinical trial programs and support its other operations. The Company cannot be certain that additional funding will be available on acceptable terms, or at all. To the extent that the Company can raise additional funds by issuing equity securities, the Company’s stockholders may experience additional dilution.

2. Basis of Presentation and Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

The accompanying financial statements of Cardiff Oncology have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“U.S. GAAP”).

Segment Reporting

Operating segments are identified as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete financial information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision-maker regarding resource allocation and assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business, asone operating segment in the United States.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make significant estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. The most significant estimate involves accrued clinical trial expenses.

Accrued Clinical Trial Expenses

The Company expenses research and development expenditures as incurred, which include costs related to clinical trial activities. The Company accrues costs for clinical trial activities based upon estimates of the services received and related expenses incurred that have yet to be invoiced by the Clinical Research Organizations ("CROs"), investigators, professional service providers, and other vendors providing clinical trial services (collectively, the “service providers”). As of December 31, 2023 the Company’s clinical trial accrual balance of $4.3 million is included in accrued liabilities. The Company’s related 2023 clinical trial expenses are included in research and development expense.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less from the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash in readily available checking and money market accounts.

Investment Securities

All investments have been classified as “available-for-sale” and are carried at fair value as determined based upon quoted market prices or pricing models for similar securities at period end. Investments with contractual maturities less than 12 months at the balance sheet date are considered short-term investments. Investments with contractual maturities beyond one year are also classified as short-term due to the Company’s ability to liquidate the investment for use in operations within the next 12 months.

Realized gains and losses on investment securities are included in earnings and are derived using the specific identification method for determining the cost of securities sold. The Company has not realized any significant gains or losses on sales of available-for-sale investment securities during any of the periods presented. As all the Company’s investment holdings are in the form of debt securities or certificates of deposit, unrealized gains and losses that are determined to be temporary in nature are reported as a component of accumulated other comprehensive loss. A decline in the fair value of any security below cost that is deemed other than temporary results in a charge to earnings and the establishment of a new cost basis for the security. Interest income is recognized when earned and is included in investment income, as are the amortization of purchase premiums and accretion of purchase discounts on investment securities.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to significant concentrations of credit risk consist primarily of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments.

Cash and cash equivalents

The Company maintains deposit accounts at financial institutions that are in excess of federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant risk on its cash due to the financial position of the depository institution in which those deposits are held. The Company limits its exposure to credit loss by generally placing its cash in high credit quality financial institutions and investment in non FDIC insured money market funds denominated and payable in U.S. dollars.

Short-term investments

The Company follows an investment policy which requires short-term investments to be diversified across different types of instruments and issuers. The investment policy also requires investments to be in high quality instruments. The diversification and credit quality requirements of the Company's investment policy limits its exposure to credit loss.

Revenues

The Company recognizes revenue when control of its products and services are transferred to its customers in an amount that reflects the consideration it expects to receive from its customers in exchange for those products and services. This process involves identifying the contract with a customer, determining the performance obligations in the contract, determining the contract price, allocating the contract price to the distinct performance obligations in the contract, and recognizing revenue when the performance obligations have been satisfied. A performance obligation is considered distinct from other obligations in a contract when it provides a benefit to the customer either on its own or together with other resources that are readily available to the customer and is separately identified in the contract. The Company considers a performance obligation satisfied once it has transferred control of goods or service to the customer, meaning the customer has the ability to use and obtain the benefit of goods or service. The Company recognizes revenue for satisfied performance obligations only when it determines there are no uncertainties regarding payment terms or transfer of control. For sales-based royalties, the Company recognizes revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied).

Royalty and License Revenues

The Company licenses and sublicenses its patent rights to healthcare companies, medical laboratories and biotechnology partners. These patents are from the Company's legacy portfolio and unrelated to onvansertib. Agreements may involve multiple elements such as license fees, minimum royalties, usage-based royalties and milestone payments. Revenue is recognized when the criteria described above have been met as well as the following:

•Up-front nonrefundable license fees pursuant to agreements under which the Company has no continuing performance obligations are recognized as revenues on the effective date of the agreement and when collection is probable.

•Minimum royalties are recognized as earned, and royalties are earned based on the licensee’s use. The Company estimates and records licensee’s sales based on historical usage rate and collectability.

•For sales-based royalties, we recognize revenue at the later of (i) when the related sales occur, or (ii) when the performance obligation to which some or all of the royalty has been allocated has been satisfied (or partially satisfied).

Payment terms and conditions vary by contracts, although terms generally include a requirement of payment within 30 to 45 days after invoice. Royalties are generally due quarterly or annually.

Derivative Financial Instruments—Warrants

The Company has issued common stock warrants in connection with the execution of certain equity financings. Such warrants are classified as derivative liabilities and are recorded at their fair market value as of each reporting period as they do not meet the criteria for equity classification. Changes in fair value of derivative liabilities are recorded in the statement of operations under the caption “Change in fair value of derivative instruments—warrants.”

The fair value of warrants is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using assumptions regarding the historical volatility of Cardiff Oncology’s common stock price, the remaining life of the warrants, and the risk-free interest rates at each period end. The Company thus uses model-derived valuations where inputs are observable in active markets to determine the fair value. The use of the Black-Scholes model classifies such warrants as Level 3 (See "Fair Value of Financial Instruments"below). These warrants expired during the first quarter of 2023. At December 31, 2022, the fair value of these warrants was $0.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-based compensation expense is measured at the grant date based on the estimated fair value of the award and is recognized straight-line over the requisite service period of the individual grants, which typically equals the vesting period.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

Financial instruments consist of cash equivalents, accounts receivable, and accounts payable. The Company applies ASC 820 for financial assets and liabilities that are required to be measured at fair value and non-financial assets and liabilities that are not required to be measured at fair value on a recurring basis. These financial instruments are stated at their respective historical carrying amounts, which approximate fair value due to their short-term nature as they reflect current market interest rates.

The authoritative guidance establishes a fair value hierarchy that is based on the extent and level of judgment used to estimate the fair value of assets and liabilities. In general, the authoritative guidance requires us to maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs when measuring fair value. An asset or liability’s categorization within the fair value hierarchy is based upon the lowest level of input that is significant to the measurement of its fair value. The three levels of input defined by the authoritative guidance are as follows:

The Company measures certain assets and liabilities at fair value on a recurring basis using the three-tier fair value hierarchy, which prioritizes the inputs used in measuring fair value. The three tiers include:

•Level 1 — Quoted prices for identical instruments in active markets.

•Level 2 — Quoted prices for similar instruments in active markets; quoted prices for identical or similar instruments in markets that are not active; and model-derived valuations where inputs are observable or where significant value drivers are observable.

•Level 3 — Instruments where significant value drivers are unobservable to third parties.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets consist of property, equipment and lease right-of-use assets. The Company records property and equipment at cost. Depreciation on property and equipment is calculated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful life of the asset. Depreciation of leasehold improvements is computed based on the shorter of the life of the asset or the term of the lease. The estimated useful lives of the major classes of property and equipment are as follows:

Impairment losses on long-lived assets used in operations are recorded when indicators of impairment are present and the undiscounted cash flows estimated to be generated by those assets are less than the assets carrying amount. 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 estimated fair value of the assets.

Leases

The Company determines if an arrangement is a lease at inception. Operating leases are included in operating lease Right-of-Use (“ROU”) assets, current operating lease liabilities and non-current operating lease liabilities in the Company’s balance sheets.

ROU assets represent the Company’s right to use an underlying asset for the lease term and lease liabilities represent its obligation to make lease payments arising from the lease. Operating lease ROU assets and liabilities are recognized at commencement date based on the present value of lease payments over the lease term. None of the Company’s operating leases provide an implicit rate, therefore the Company uses its incremental borrowing rate based on the information available at commencement date in determining the present value of lease payments. The incremental borrowing rate is the rate of interest that the Company would expect to pay to borrow on a collateralized and fully amortizing basis over a similar term an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment. The operating lease ROU asset also includes any lease payments made less lease incentives received. 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 is recognized on a straight-line basis over the lease term. Our facilities lease agreement contains lease and non-lease components, such as common area maintenance. We have elected to account for these lease and non-lease components of this agreement as a single lease component.

Leases with an initial term of 12 months or less are not recorded on the Company's balance sheets. These short-term leases are expensed on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Income Taxes

Income taxes are determined using the asset and liability approach of accounting for income taxes. Under this approach, deferred taxes represent the future tax consequences expected to occur when the reported amounts of assets and liabilities are recovered or paid. Deferred taxes result from differences between the financial statement and tax bases of Cardiff Oncology’s assets and liabilities and are adjusted for changes in tax rates and tax laws when changes are enacted. Valuation allowances are recorded to reduce deferred tax assets when it is more likely than not that a tax benefit will not be realized. The assessment of whether or not a valuation allowance is required often requires significant judgment.

Contingencies

In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to loss contingencies, such as legal proceedings and claims arising out of its business, that cover a wide range of matters, including, among others, government investigations, stockholder lawsuits, product and environmental liability, and tax matters. In accordance with FASB ASC Topic 450, Contingencies, the Company records such loss contingencies when it is probable that a liability has been incurred and the amount of loss can be reasonably estimated. The Company, in accordance with this guidance, does not recognize gain contingencies until realized.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses include expenditures in connection with an in-house research and development laboratory, salaries and staff costs, clinical trials, purchased in-process research and development and regulatory and scientific consulting fees, as well as contract research and insurance. Also, patent filing and patent maintenance expenses are considered legal in nature and therefore classified as general and administrative expense, if any.

Non-refundable advance payments for goods or services that will be used or rendered for future research and development activities are deferred and capitalized. As the related goods are delivered or the services are performed, or when the goods or services are no longer expected to be provided, the deferred amounts are recognized as an expense.

Upfront and milestone payments to acquire contractual rights to licensed technology are expensed when incurred if there is uncertainty in the Company receiving future economic benefit from the acquired contractual rights. Certain contractual rights may require the Company to make additional milestone payments based on development and commercial milestones, and royalties based on sales volume. See Note 10 -Commitments and Contingencies, for further details.

These potential development milestones include: (a) dosing of the first subject in the first Phase III Clinical Trial for the first Product, a registration enabling Phase II Clinical Trial, or after completion of a Phase II Clinical Trial that is used as the basis for an NDA submission; and (b) upon filing of the first NDA or equivalent for the first product candidate.

Net Loss Per Share

Basic and diluted net loss per common share is determined by dividing net loss attributable to common stockholders by the weighted-average common shares outstanding during the period. The accretion of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock dividends and deemed dividends recognized in connection with certain preferred share issuances are included in net loss attributable to common stockholders in the computation of basic and diluted earnings per share. For all periods presented, there is no difference in the number of shares used to calculate basic and diluted shares outstanding as inclusion of the potentially dilutive securities would be antidilutive. Shares used in calculating diluted net loss per common share exclude as anti-dilutive the following share equivalents:

Recently Adopted Accounting Pronouncement

In May 2021, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") No. 2021-04 ("ASU 2021-04"), Earnings Per Share (Topic 260), Debt—Modifications and Extinguishments (Subtopic 470-50), Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718), and Derivatives and Hedging—Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40): Issuer’s Accounting for Certain Modifications or Exchanges of Freestanding Equity-Classified Written Call Options (a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force). The amendments in this update are effective for all entities for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021, including interim periods within those fiscal years. The Company has prospectively adopted this standard as of January 1, 2022 for periods presented after the adoption. The adoption of ASU 2021-04 did not have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

Recent Accounting Pronouncement Not Yet Adopted

In August 2020, the FASB issued ASU No. 2020-06 ("ASU 2020-06"), Debt – Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging – Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”). ASU 2020-06 eliminates the beneficial conversion and cash conversion accounting models for convertible instruments. It also amends the accounting for certain contracts in an entity’s own equity that are currently accounted for as derivatives because of specific settlement provisions. In addition, ASU 2020-06 modifies how particular convertible instruments and certain contracts that may be settled in cash or shares impact the diluted EPS computation. The amendments in this update are effective for the Company on January 1, 2024. The amendment is to be adopted through either a fully retrospective or modified retrospective method of transition. Early adoption is permitted. The Company will adopt this standard as of January 1, 2024 using the modified-retrospective method. The Company is currently evaluating the adoption of ASU 2020-06, but does not expect it to have a material impact on the Company's financial statements.

In December 2023, the FASB issued ASU No. 2023-09 ("ASU 2023-09"), “Improvements to Income Tax Disclosures.” ASU 2023-09 requires disaggregated information about a reporting entity’s effective tax rate reconciliation as well as information on income taxes paid. ASU 2023-09 is effective for public entities with annual periods beginning after December 15, 2024 and for private businesses for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2025, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of this guidance on its financial statement disclosures.

3. Supplementary Balance Sheet Information

Short-term investments available-for-sale securities consist of the following:

For the year ended December 31, 2023 the net realized loss recorded within the Company's statement of operations from the sale of short-term investments was $0.1 million. The amount of gains and losses reclassified out of other comprehensive income for the period related to the sales of short-term investments was not material for the year ended December 31, 2023.

The Company periodically reviews the portfolio of debt securities to determine if any investment is impaired due to credit loss or other potential valuation concerns. For debt securities where the fair value of the investment is less than the amortized cost basis, the Company has assessed at the individual security level for various quantitative factors including, but not limited to, the nature of the investments, changes in credit ratings, interest rate fluctuations, industry analyst reports, and the severity of impairment. Unrealized losses in investments available for sale debt securities at December 31, 2023, were substantially due to increases in interest rates, not due to increased credit risks associated with specific securities. Accordingly, the Company has not recorded an allowance for credit losses. It is not more likely than not that the Company will be required to sell the investments before recovery of their amortized cost bases, which may be at maturity.

Investments available for sale that have been in a continuous unrealized loss position for greater than one-year consist of the following:

Accrued Interest from short-term investments

Accrued interest from short-term investments contained within prepaid expenses and other current assets as of December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $0.6 million and $0.5 million, respectively.

Property and Equipment

Fixed assets consist of furniture and office equipment, leasehold improvements and laboratory equipment. Depreciation expense for property and equipment for the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $0.4 million and $0.2 million, respectively. Property and equipment consisted of the following:

Accrued Liabilities

Accrued liabilities consisted of the following:

4. Leases

As a lessee, the Company’s current lease includes its master facility lease which is considered an operating lease.

Master Facility Lease

The Company currently leases office and lab space in San Diego that expires on February 28, 2027. The lease currently requires monthly payments of approximately $63,000 per month with 3% annual escalation.

The components of lease expense were as follows:

Supplemental balance sheet information related to leases was as follows:

Supplemental cash flow and other information related to leases was as follows:

Total remaining annual commitments under non-cancelable operating lease agreements as of December 31, 2023, are summarized are as follows:

5. Stockholders’ Equity

Warrants

A summary of warrant activity and changes in warrants outstanding, including both liability and equity classifications, is presented below:

Series A Convertible Preferred Stock

The material terms of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock consist of:

1)Dividends. Holders of the Company’s Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to receive cumulative dividends at the rate per share of 4% per annum, payable quarterly on March 31, June 30, September 30 and December 31, beginning with September 30, 2005. Dividends are payable, at the Company’s sole election, in cash or shares of common stock. As of December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had $462,000 and $438,000, respectively in cumulative unpaid preferred stock dividends, included in the liquidation preference of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, and $24,000 and $24,000 of cumulative dividends were added to the liquidation preference of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, respectively.

2)Voting Rights. Shares of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock have no voting rights. However, so long as any shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are outstanding, the Company may not, without the affirmative vote of the holders of the shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock then outstanding, (a) adversely change the powers, preferences or rights given to the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, (b) authorize or create any class of stock senior or equal to the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, (c) amend its certificate of incorporation or other charter documents, so as to affect adversely any rights of the holders of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock or (d) increase the authorized number of shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock.

3)Liquidation. Upon any liquidation, dissolution or winding-up of the Company, the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock are entitled to receive an amount equal to the Stated Value per share, which is currently $10 per share plus any accrued and unpaid dividends.

4)Conversion Rights. Each share of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock is convertible at the option of the holder into that number of shares of common stock determined by dividing the Stated Value, currently $10 per share, by the conversion price, which at the time of issuance was $928.80 per share, and subsequently adjusted to $691.20 per share.

5)Subsequent Equity Sales. The conversion price is subject to adjustment for dilutive issuances for a period of 12 months beginning March 17, 2006 and the conversion price was adjusted to $691.20 per share.

6. Automatic Conversion. If the price of the Company’s common stock equals $1,857.60 per share for 20 consecutive trading days, and an average of 116 shares of common stock per day are traded during the 20 trading days, the Company will have the right to deliver a notice to the holders of the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock, requesting the holders to convert any portion of the shares of Series A Convertible Preferred Stock into shares of common stock at the applicable conversion price. As of the date of these financial statements, such conditions have not been met.

The components of the liquidation preference for the Series A Convertible Preferred Stock were as follows:

6. Stock-Based Compensation

2021 Equity Incentive Plan

In June 2021 the Company's stockholders approved the 2021 Omnibus Equity Incentive Plan ("2021 Plan"). The number of authorized shares in the 2021 plan is equal to the sum of (i)3,150,000 shares, plus (ii) the number of shares of Common Stock reserved, but unissued under the 2014 Plan; and (iii) the number of shares of Common Stock underlying forfeited awards under the 2014 Plan. On June 9, 2022 the shareholders approved an increase of shares authorized in the 2021 Plan to 5,150,000. As of December 31, 2023, there were 2,013,871 shares available for issuance under the 2021 Plan.

2014 Equity Incentive Plan

Subsequent to the adoption of the 2021 Plan, no additional equity awards can be made under the terms of the 2014 Plan.

Inducement Grants

In July 2021, the Company began issuing equity awards to certain new employees as inducement grants outside of its 2021 Plan. As of December 31, 2023, an aggregate of 1,435,256 shares were issuable upon the exercise of inducement grant stock options approved by the Company.

Modification of Stock Options

In June 2023 the Company modified stock options for a departing employee. The modification resulted in an incremental stock-based compensation expense of $0.6 million during the year ended December 31, 2023.

In June 2022 one of the Company's directors did not seek another term on the Board of Directors. At the time of departure, the Compensation Committee passed a resolution to extend the expiration date of the vested stock options, and to immediately accelerate the vesting of the unvested options. The Company recorded incremental reduction to stock compensation expense of $0.1 million during the year ended December 31, 2022, related to the modifications.

Stock-based compensation has been recognized in operating results as follows:

Stock Options

The estimated fair value of stock option awards was determined on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option valuation model with the following assumptions during the years indicated below:

Risk-free interest rate — Based on the daily yield curve rates for U.S. Treasury obligations with maturities that correspond to the expected term of the Company’s stock options.

Dividend yield — Cardiff Oncology has not paid any dividends on common stock since its inception and does not anticipate paying dividends on its common stock in the foreseeable future.

Expected volatility — Based on the historical volatility of Cardiff Oncology’s common stock.

Expected term — The expected term for options granted after January 1, 2023 is estimated based on the Company's historical employee data. Prior to January 1, 2023, the Company used the "simplified method" to estimate expected term.

Forfeitures — The Company estimates forfeitures based on its historical experience.

The weighted-average fair value per share of all options granted during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, estimated as of the grant date using the Black-Scholes option valuation model, was $1.35 and $2.55 per share, respectively.

The unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested stock options outstanding at December 31, 2023 was $6.6 million. The weighted-average remaining amortization period at December 31, 2023 for non-vested stock options was 2.1 years.

The total fair value of shares vested during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 was $4.8 million and $4.7 million, respectively.

A summary of stock option activity and of changes in stock options outstanding is presented below:

7. Derivative Financial Instruments — Warrants

Certain warrants issued in connection with the Company’s equity financings are accounted for as derivative liabilities. Accordingly, the warrants are remeasured at each balance sheet date based on their estimated fair value using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. These warrants expired during the first quarter of 2023. Changes in fair value are recorded within Company’s statements of operations.

The assumptions used to determine the fair value of the warrants using the Black-Scholes option pricing model were:

Expected volatility is based on the historical volatility of Cardiff Oncology’s common stock. The warrants have a transferability provision and based on guidance for instruments issued with such a provision, Cardiff Oncology used the remaining contractual term as the expected term of the warrants. The risk-free interest rate is based on the U.S. Treasury security rates consistent with the expected remaining term of the warrants at each balance sheet date.

The following table sets forth the components of changes in the Company’s derivative financial instruments—warrants liability balance, valued using the Black-Scholes option pricing method, for the periods indicated.

8. Fair Value Measurements

The following table presents the Company’s assets and liabilities that are measured and recognized at fair value on a recurring basis classified under the appropriate level of the fair value hierarchy as of December 31, 2023 and 2022:

The Company’s policy is to recognize transfers between levels of the fair value hierarchy on the date of the event or change in circumstances that caused the transfer. There were no transfers into or out of Level 3 during the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022.

9. Income Taxes

At December 31, 2023, Cardiff Oncology had federal net operating loss carryforwards (“NOLs”) of approximately $5.1 million which, if not used, will continue to expire through 2037, and federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $99.2 million, which do not expire. Cardiff Oncology also has California NOLs of approximately $22.2 million which, if not used, will begin to expire in 2029. Cardiff Oncology also has research and development tax credits available for federal and California purposes of approximately $1.6 million and $2.6 million, respectively. The federal research and development tax credits will begin to expire on January 31, 2025. The California research and development tax credits do not expire.

Pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”) Sections 382 and 383, annual use of a company’s NOL and research and development credit carryforwards may be limited if there is a cumulative change in ownership of greater than 50% within a three-year period. The amount of the annual limitation is determined based on the value of the Company immediately prior to the ownership change. Subsequent ownership changes may further affect the limitation in future years. If limited, the related tax asset would be removed from the deferred tax asset schedule with a corresponding reduction in the valuation allowance. The Company has established a valuation allowance as the realization of such deferred tax assets has not met the more likely than not threshold requirement. Due to the existence of the valuation allowance, further changes in the Company’s unrecognized tax benefits will not impact the Company’s effective tax rate.

The provision for income taxes based on losses from continuing operations consists of the following at December 31:

Significant components of the Company’s taxes and the rates as of December 31 are shown below:

Significant components of the Company’s deferred tax assets and liabilities from federal and state income taxes as of December 31 are shown below (in thousands):

Since inception the Company has incurred continuing losses and expects to continue to incur losses for the foreseeable future. The Company has recorded a full valuation allowance against its net deferred tax assets as it is more likely than not they will not be realized.

Cardiff Oncology does not have any unrecognized tax benefits. Cardiff Oncology’s practice is to recognize interest and/or penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense, andnone have been incurred to date. The Company does not anticipate a significant change in unrecognized tax benefits over the next 12 months. The Company is subject to taxation in the U.S. and California. Due to net operating losses all tax years since inception remain open to examination.

10. Commitments and Contingencies

Executive Agreements

Certain executive agreements provide for severance payments in case of terminations without cause or certain change of control scenarios.

Research and Development and Clinical Trial Agreements

In March 2017, the Company entered into a license agreement with Nerviano which granted the Company development and commercialization rights to NMS-1286937, which Cardiff Oncology refers to as onvansertib. Terms of the agreement also provide for the Company to pay development and commercial milestones, and royalties based on sales volume. These potential development milestones include: (a) dosing of the first subject in the first Phase III Clinical Trial for the first Product, a registration enabling Phase II Clinical Trial, or after completion of a Phase II Clinical Trial that is used as the basis for an NDA submission; and (b) upon filing of the first NDA or equivalent for the first product candidate. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022, no milestone or royalty payments were made.

The Company is a party of various agreements under which it licenses technology on an exclusive basis in the field of oncology therapeutics. These agreements include License fees, Royalties and Milestone payments. The company also has a legacy license agreement in the field of oncology diagnostics under which royalty payments are due. These royalty payments are calculated as a percent of revenue. During the years ended December 31, 2023 and 2022 payments have not been material.

Litigation

Cardiff Oncology does not believe that it has legal liabilities that are probable or reasonably possible that require either accrual or disclosure. From time to time, the Company may become involved in various lawsuits and legal proceedings that arise in the ordinary course of business. Litigation is subject to inherent uncertainties, and an adverse result in matters may arise from time to time that may harm the Company’s business. As of the date of this report, management believes that there are no claims against the Company, which it believes will result in a material adverse effect on the Company’s business or financial condition.

11. Employee Benefit Plan

The Company has a defined contribution retirement plan under Section 401(k) of the Internal Revenue Service ("IRS") Code covering its employees. The plan allows employees to defer, up to the maximum allowed, a percentage of their income through contributions to the plan as allowed by IRS Code. The Company does not currently make matching contributions.