Summary of Significant Accounting Policies | 2. Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Use of Estimates The preparation of condensed financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the condensed financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less at the time of deposit to be cash equivalents. The Company invests excess cash in readily available checking and savings accounts and highly liquid investments in money market accounts. Fair Value of Financial Instruments The Company’s condensed financial instruments include principally cash and cash equivalents, other current assets, accounts payable, accrued liabilities and debt. The carrying amounts for these condensed financial instruments reported in the balance sheets approximate their fair values. See Note 11 — Fair Value Measurements, for further discussion of fair value. General and Administrative Expenses General and administrative expenses consist primarily of personnel‑related costs, including salaries and share‑based compensation costs, for personnel in functions not directly associated with research and development activities. Other significant costs include legal fees related to intellectual property and corporate matters and professional fees for accounting and other services. Research and Development Expenses Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred in performing research and development activities, including compensation for research and development employees, costs associated with preclinical studies and trials, regulatory activities, manufacturing activities to support clinical activities, license fees, non‑legal patent costs, fees paid to external service providers that conduct certain research and development, clinical costs and an allocation of overhead expenses. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. Income Taxes The Company utilizes the liability method of accounting for income taxes as required by Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 740, Income Taxes . Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Currently, there is no provision for income taxes, as the Company has incurred operating losses to date, and a full valuation allowance has been provided on the net deferred tax assets. MLT was treated as a partnership for federal and state income tax purposes. Accordingly, no provision was made for income taxes for periods prior to November 1, 2014, since the Company’s net loss (subject to certain limitations) was passed through to the income tax returns of its members. Upon incorporation on October 30, 2014, the Company became taxed as a corporation. Share‑Based Compensation The Company accounts for share‑based compensation in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation — Stock Compensation (ASC 718). Accordingly, compensation costs related to equity instruments granted are recognized at the grant‑date fair value. Additionally, as a result of the early adoption of ASU 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting , the Company has made an accounting policy election to record forfeitures when they occur. Share‑based compensation arrangements to non‑employees are accounted for in accordance with the applicable provisions of ASC 718 and ASC 505, Equity , using a fair value approach. The compensation costs of these arrangements are subject to re‑measurement as the equity instruments vest and are recognized as expense over the related service period (typically the vesting period of the awards). Common Stock Valuation Due to the absence of an active market for the Company’s common stock prior to the close of the IPO, the Company utilized methodologies in accordance with the framework of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ Technical Practice Aid, Valuation of Privately‑Held Company Equity Securities Issued as Compensation , to estimate the fair value of its common stock. The valuation methodology includes estimates and assumptions that require the Company’s judgment. These estimates and assumptions included a number of objective and subjective factors, including external market conditions affecting the biopharmaceutical industry sector, and the likelihood of achieving a liquidity event, such as an IPO or sale. Significant changes to the key assumptions used in the valuations have resulted in different fair values of common stock at each valuation date. Convertible Preferred Stock On March 31, 2015, the Company issued 745,637 shares of Series A convertible preferred stock (the Series A preferred stock). On August 10, 2016, immediately prior to the closing of the IPO, the Company’s Series A preferred stock, together with accrued dividends thereon, converted into 827,205 shares of common stock. The Series A preferred stock prior to conversion was classified outside of permanent equity, in mezzanine equity, on the Company’s condensed balance sheet. The Company initially recorded preferred stock that may be redeemed at the option of the holder, or based on the occurrence of events outside of the Company’s control, at the value of the proceeds received. Subsequently, if it was probable that the preferred stock would become redeemable, the Company recognized changes in the redemption value immediately as they occurred and adjusted the carrying amount of the instrument to equal the redemption value at the end of each reporting period. If it was not probable that the preferred stock would become redeemable, the Company did not adjust the carrying value. In the absence of retained earnings, these charges were recorded against additional paid‑in‑capital, if any, and then to accumulated deficit. See Note 7 — Convertible Series A Preferred Stock for further discussion. As a result of their conversion to common stock on August 10, 2016 as described above, no shares of Series A preferred stock were outstanding as of March 31, 2017 and December 31, 2016. Segment Information Operating segments are components of an enterprise for which separate financial information is available and is evaluated regularly by the Company’s chief operating decision maker in deciding how to allocate resources and assessing performance. The Company’s chief operating decision maker is its Chief Executive Officer. The Company’s Chief Executive Officer views the Company’s operations and manages its business in one operating segment, which is the business of development and commercialization of therapeutics for the treatment of dyslipidemia, a serious medical condition that increases the risk of life threatening cardiovascular disease and NAFLD/NASH. Accordingly, the Company has a single reporting segment. Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act Accounting Election As an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act (JOBS Act), the Company is eligible to take advantage of certain exemptions from various reporting requirements that are applicable to other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. The Company has irrevocably elected not to avail itself of this exemption and, therefore, will be subject to the same new or revised accounting standards as other public companies that are not emerging growth companies. Recent Accounting Pronouncements In January 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2016‑01, Financial Instruments — Overall: Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities. The guidance affects the accounting for equity investments, financial liabilities under the fair value option and the presentation and disclosure requirements of financial instruments. The guidance is effective in the first quarter of fiscal 2019. Early adoption is permitted for the accounting guidance on financial liabilities under the fair value option. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its financial statements. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) and subsequently amended the guidance relating largely to transition considerations under the standard in January 2017. The objective of this update is to increase transparency and comparability among organizations by recognizing lease assets and lease liabilities on the balance sheet and disclosing key information about leasing arrangements. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods within those annual periods and is to be applied utilizing a modified retrospective approach. The Company is currently evaluating the new guidance to determine the impact it may have on its financial statements. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-09, Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting . This ASU simplifies the accounting for share-based payment award transactions including: income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. This ASU is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2016, including interim periods within those fiscal years. Early adoption is permitted. The Company adopted this standard effective July 1, 2016 on a retrospective basis for each period presented. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. In November 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash . The objective of this ASU is to eliminate the diversity in practice related to the classification of restricted cash or restricted cash equivalents in the statement of cash flows. For public business entities, this ASU is effective for annual and interim reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, with early adoption permitted. The amendments in this update should be applied retrospectively to all periods presented. The Company is currently evaluating the requirements of this new guidance and has not yet determined its impact on the Company’s financial statements. In January 2017, the FASB issued several amendments to ASU 2014‑09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers — Topic 606 (ASU 2014-09), including clarification on accounting for principal versus agent considerations (i.e., reporting gross versus net), licenses of intellectual property and identifying performance obligations. These amendments do not change the core principle of the standard, but provide clarity and implementation guidance. ASU 2014-09, which supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in FASB ASC 605, primarily states that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods and services. In 2015, the FASB agreed to allow companies to delay the implementation of this standard for one year effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early application is permitted only for periods beginning after December 15, 2016. The Company plans to adopt this standard on January 1, 2018 and to select the modified retrospective transition method. The Company plans to modify its accounting policies to reflect the requirements of this standard however, the planned adoption will not affect the Company’s financial statements and related disclosures for these periods or future periods until the Company generates revenues. |