Summary of significant accounting policies | 2. Basis of presentation The condensed financial statements of the Company included herein have been prepared pursuant to the rules and regulations of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Certain information and footnote disclosures normally included in financial statements prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”) have been condensed or omitted from this report, as is permitted by such rules and regulations. The accompanying condensed financial statements reflect all adjustments consisting of normal, recurring adjustments that are necessary for a fair presentation of the financial position results of operations and cash flows for the interim periods presented. Interim results are not necessarily indicative of results for a full year. Accordingly, these condensed financial statements should be read in conjunction with the financial statements included in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018 (the “Annual Report”) filed with the SEC on March 21, 2019. From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”), or other standard setting bodies and adopted by the Company as of the specified effective date. Unless otherwise discussed, the impact of recently issued standards that are not yet effective will not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements upon adoption. Under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012, as amended (the “JOBS Act”), the Company meets the definition of an emerging growth company, and has elected the extended transition period for complying with new or revised accounting standards, which delays the adoption of these accounting standards until they would apply to private companies. Reverse stock split On June 7, 2018, the Company effected a one-for‑27.58621 reverse stock split of the Company’s issued and outstanding shares of common stock and a proportional adjustment to the existing conversion ratios for the Company’s convertible preferred stock. The par value per share and authorized shares of common and convertible preferred stock were not adjusted as a result of the reverse stock split. All common stock and common stock per share amounts within the financial statements and notes thereto have been retroactively adjusted for all periods presented to give effect to this reverse stock split, including reclassifying an amount equal to the reduction in par value of common stock to additional paid-in capital. Use of estimates The condensed financial statements are prepared in conformity with GAAP. This process requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities as of the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Significant accounting policies The Company’s significant accounting policies are described in Note 3, “Summary of significant accounting policies,” in the Annual Report. There have been no material changes to the significant accounting policies during the three months ended March 31, 2019 with the exception of the following: Revenue Recognition Revenue is recognized in accordance with revenue recognition accounting guidance, which utilizes five steps to determine whether revenue can be recognized and to what extent: (i) identify the contract with a customer; (ii) identify the performance obligation(s); (iii) determine the transaction price; (iv) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and (v) determine the recognition period. The Company only applies the five-step model to contracts when it is probable that the Company will collect the consideration it is entitled to in exchange for the goods or services it transfers to the customer. At contract inception, once the contract is determined to be within the scope of ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when (or as) the performance obligation is satisfied. Significant judgments exercised by management include the identification of performance obligations, and whether such promised goods or services are considered distinct. The Company evaluates promised goods or services on a contract by contract basis to determine whether each promise represents a good or service that is distinct or has the same pattern of transfer as other promises. A promised good or service is considered distinct if the customer can benefit from the good or service independently of other goods/services either in the contract or that can be obtained elsewhere, without regard to contract exclusivity, and the entity’s promise to transfer the good or service to the customer is separately identifiable from other promises in the contact. If the good or service is not considered distinct, the Company combines such promises and accounts for them as a single combined performance obligation. Recently adopted accounting pronouncements In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, which amends the guidance for accounting for revenue from contracts with customers. This ASU supersedes the revenue recognition requirements in ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition , (“ASC 605”), and creates a new topic, ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers . Through subsequent targeted amendments, the FASB issued additional ASUs that delayed the effective date of ASC 606 and clarified various aspects of the new revenue guidance, including principal versus agent considerations, identifying performance obligations, licensing, and other improvements and practical expedients. The Company adopted this new standard on January 1, 2019 using the modified retrospective transition method. The Company presents revenue from contracts with customers as collaboration revenue in the Company’s condensed statements of operations. The Company applied this new standard to all contracts with customers that were not complete as of the adoption date and has determined that no cumulative catch-up adjustment to accumulated deficit was required. See Note 4, “Research collaboration agreement with Allergan” for additional information regarding the Company’s single contract that falls within the scope of ASC 606. The Company has determined that accounting for the Company’s various grant agreements is outside the scope of ASC 606, as the government agencies granting the Company funds are not receiving reciprocal value for their contributions. There are currently no grants outstanding in 2019. Since the accounting for government grants falls outside the scope of ASC 606, the Company has classified the grant income earned in 2018 separate and apart from revenue earned from contracts with customers in the Company’s condensed statements of operations. In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-07, Compensation-Stock Compensation (Topic 718): Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting . This ASU expands the scope of Topic 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation to include share-based payments issued to nonemployees for goods or services. Under the new guidance, the existing employee guidance will apply to nonemployee share based transactions (as long as the transaction is not effectively a form of financing), with the exception of specific guidance related to the attribution of compensation cost. The cost of nonemployee awards will continue to be recorded as if the grantor had paid cash for the goods or services. The new accounting guidance will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2020. The Company has early adopted this new standard on January 1, 2019. The adoption did not have a material impact on the Company’s condensed financial statements. Recently issued accounting pronouncement In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016‑02, Leases (“ASU 2016‑02”), which requires a lessee to recognize assets and liabilities on the balance sheet for operating leases and changes many key definitions, including the definition of a lease. The new standard includes a short‑term lease exception for leases with a term of 12 months or less, as part of which a lessee can make an accounting policy election not to recognize lease assets and lease liabilities. Lessees will continue to differentiate between finance leases (previously referred to as capital leases) and operating leases using classification criteria that are substantially similar to the previous guidance. The new standard will be effective for the Company beginning after December 15, 2019, and early adoption is permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the potential impact ASU 2016‑02 may have on its condensed financial statements. |