Organization and Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Organization and Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation
Organization and Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation	1. Organization and Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation Description of Business Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Synthetic Biologics”) is a diversified clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in areas of high unmet need. The Company’s lead candidates are: (1) SYN-004 (ribaxamase) which is designed to degrade certain commonly used intravenous (IV) beta-lactam antibiotics within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to prevent (a) microbiome damage, (b) Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), (c) overgrowth of pathogenic organisms, (d) the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (e) acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, and (2) SYN-010 which is intended to reduce the impact of methane-producing organisms in the gut microbiome to treat an underlying cause of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). The Company is also advancing SYN-020, an oral formulation of the enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) to treat both local GI and systemic diseases. Corporate Structure and Basis of Presentation As of December 31, 2019, the Company had eight subsidiaries, Pipex Therapeutics, Inc. (“Pipex Therapeutics”), Effective Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“EPI”), Solovax, Inc. (“Solovax”), CD4 Biosciences, Inc. (“CD4”), Epitope Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Epitope”), Healthmine, Inc. (“Healthmine”), Putney Drug Corp. (“Putney”) and Synthetic Biomics, Inc. (“SYN Biomics”). Pipex Therapeutics, EPI, Healthmine and Putney are wholly owned, and Solovax, CD4, Epitope and SYN Biomics are majority-owned. For financial reporting purposes, the outstanding common stock of the Company is that of Synthetic Biologics, Inc. All statements of operations, (deficit) equity and cash flows for each of the entities are presented as consolidated. All subsidiaries were formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on January 8, 2001, except for EPI, which was incorporated in Delaware on December 12, 2000, Epitope which was incorporated in Delaware in January of 2002, Putney which was incorporated in Delaware in November of 2006, Healthmine which was incorporated in Delaware in December of 2007 and SYN Biomics which was incorporated in Nevada in December of 2013. Reverse Stock Split On August 10, 2018, we effected a one for thirty five reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) of our authorized, issued and outstanding common stock. Unless otherwise noted, all references to share amounts in these financial statements reflect the Reverse Stock Split. Every thirty five shares of issued and outstanding common stock were automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock, without any change in the par value per share of common stock. All share and per share amounts in the financial statements have been retroactively adjusted for all periods presented to give effect to the reverse split including reclassifying an amount equal to the reduction in par value to additional paid-in capital. The Reverse Split affected all issued and outstanding shares of common stock, as well as common stock underlying stock options, warrants and convertible instruments outstanding immediately prior to the effectiveness of the Reverse Split. The Reverse Split reduced the total number of shares of common stock outstanding from approximately 128.5 million to approximately 3.7 million.

1. Organization and Nature of Operations and Basis of Presentation

Description of Business

Synthetic Biologics, Inc. (the “Company” or “Synthetic Biologics”) is a diversified clinical-stage company leveraging the microbiome to develop therapeutics designed to prevent and treat gastrointestinal (GI) diseases in areas of high unmet need. The Company’s lead candidates are: (1) SYN-004 (ribaxamase) which is designed to degrade certain commonly used intravenous (IV) beta-lactam antibiotics within the gastrointestinal (GI) tract to prevent (a) microbiome damage, (b) Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), (c) overgrowth of pathogenic organisms, (d) the emergence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and (e) acute graft-versus-host-disease (aGVHD) in allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplant (HCT) recipients, and (2) SYN-010 which is intended to reduce the impact of methane-producing organisms in the gut microbiome to treat an underlying cause of irritable bowel syndrome with constipation (IBS-C). The Company is also advancing SYN-020, an oral formulation of the enzyme intestinal alkaline phosphatase (IAP) to treat both local GI and systemic diseases.

Corporate Structure and Basis of Presentation

As of December 31, 2019, the Company had eight subsidiaries, Pipex Therapeutics, Inc. (“Pipex Therapeutics”), Effective Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“EPI”), Solovax, Inc. (“Solovax”), CD4 Biosciences, Inc. (“CD4”), Epitope Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Epitope”), Healthmine, Inc. (“Healthmine”), Putney Drug Corp. (“Putney”) and Synthetic Biomics, Inc. (“SYN Biomics”). Pipex Therapeutics, EPI, Healthmine and Putney are wholly owned, and Solovax, CD4, Epitope and SYN Biomics are majority-owned.

For financial reporting purposes, the outstanding common stock of the Company is that of Synthetic Biologics, Inc. All statements of operations, (deficit) equity and cash flows for each of the entities are presented as consolidated. All subsidiaries were formed under the laws of the State of Delaware on January 8, 2001, except for EPI, which was incorporated in Delaware on December 12, 2000, Epitope which was incorporated in Delaware in January of 2002, Putney which was incorporated in Delaware in November of 2006, Healthmine which was incorporated in Delaware in December of 2007 and SYN Biomics which was incorporated in Nevada in December of 2013.

Reverse Stock Split

On August 10, 2018, we effected a one for thirty five reverse stock split (the “Reverse Stock Split”) of our authorized, issued and outstanding common stock. Unless otherwise noted, all references to share amounts in these financial statements reflect the Reverse Stock Split.

Every thirty five shares of issued and outstanding common stock were automatically combined into one issued and outstanding share of common stock, without any change in the par value per share of common stock. All share and per share amounts in the financial statements have been retroactively adjusted for all periods presented to give effect to the reverse split including reclassifying an amount equal to the reduction in par value to additional paid-in capital.

The Reverse Split affected all issued and outstanding shares of common stock, as well as common stock underlying stock options, warrants and convertible instruments outstanding immediately prior to the effectiveness of the Reverse Split. The Reverse Split reduced the total number of shares of common stock outstanding from approximately 128.5 million to approximately 3.7 million.