COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2019

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES

Operating Leases

In August 2016, the Company entered into a five-year lease for office space in Boulder, Colorado that expires on October 31, 2021 (the “Boulder Lease”) subject to the Company’s option to renew the Boulder Lease for two additional terms of three years each. Pursuant to the Boulder Lease, the Company leased 3,038 square feet of space in a multi-suite building. Rent payments under the Boulder Lease included base rent of $4,430 per month during the first year of the Boulder Lease with an annual increase of 3.5%, and additional monthly fees to cover the Company’s share of certain facility expenses, including utilities, property taxes, insurance, and maintenance, which were $2,160 per month during the first year of the Boulder Lease.

The Company recognized a right-of-use asset and corresponding lease liability on January 1, 2019, by calculating the present value of lease payments, discounted at 12.0%, the Company’s estimated incremental borrowing rate, over the 2.8 years expected remaining term. As the Company’s lease does not provide an implicit rate, the Company estimated the incremental borrowing rate based on industry peers. Industry peers consist of several public companies in the biotechnology industry with comparable characteristics, including clinical trials progress and therapeutic indications. Amortization of the operating lease right-of-use asset for the Boulder Lease amounted to $17 thousand and $50 thousand for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019, respectively, and was included in operating expense. As of September 30, 2019, the remaining lease term was 2.1 years.

The terms of the Boulder Lease provide for rental payments on a monthly basis on a graduated scale. The Company recognizes rent expense on a straight-line basis over the lease period. Lease expense for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2019 and 2018 was $22 thousand and $0.1 million, respectively.