1.	NATURE OF OPERATIONS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

Business

Acer Therapeutics Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), formerly known as Opexa Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Registrant”), is a pharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of therapies for patients with serious rare and ultra-rare diseases with critical unmet medical need. The Company’s late-stage clinical pipeline includes two candidates for severe genetic disorders: EDSIVO™ (celiprolol) for vascular Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (“vEDS”), and ACER-001 (a fully taste-masked, immediate release formulation of sodium phenylbutyrate) for urea cycle disorders (“UCD”) and Maple Syrup Urine Disease (“MSUD”). There are no FDA-approved drugs for vEDS and MSUD and limited options for UCD, which collectively impact approximately 7,000 patients in the United States. The Company’s products have clinical proof-of-concept and mechanistic differentiation, and it intends to seek approval for them in the U.S. by using the regulatory pathway established under section 505(b)(2) of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or FFDCA, that allows an applicant to rely at least in part on third-party data for approval, which may expedite the preparation, submission, and approval of a marketing application.

Since its inception, the Company has devoted substantially all of its efforts to business planning, research and development, recruiting management and technical staff, acquiring operating assets and raising capital. The Company has not generated any product revenue to date and may never generate any product revenue in the future.

Merger and Reverse Stock Split

On September 19, 2017, the Registrant completed its business combination with Acer Therapeutics Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Private Acer”), in accordance with the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger and Reorganization, dated as of June 30, 2017, by and among the Registrant, Opexa Merger Sub, Inc. (“Merger Sub”) and Private Acer (the “Merger Agreement”), pursuant to which Merger Sub merged with and into Private Acer, with Private Acer surviving as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Registrant (the “Merger”). This transaction was approved by the Registrant’s stockholders at a special meeting of its stockholders on September 19, 2017. Also on September 19, 2017, in connection with, and prior to the completion of, the Merger, the Registrant effected a 1-for-10.355527 reverse stock split of its then outstanding common stock (the “Reverse Split”) and immediately following the Merger, the Registrant changed its name to “Acer Therapeutics Inc.” pursuant to amendments to its certificate of formation filed with the Texas Secretary of State on September 19, 2017. All share numbers have been adjusted to reflect the Reverse Split.

Following the completion of the Merger, the business conducted by the Registrant became primarily the business conducted by Private Acer, which is a pharmaceutical company that acquires, develops and intends to commercialize therapies for patients with serious rare and ultra-rare diseases with critical unmet medical need.

Delaware Reincorporation and Subsidiary Merger

On May 15, 2018, the Company changed its state of incorporation from the State of Texas to the State of Delaware (the “Reincorporation”) pursuant to a plan of conversion, dated May 15, 2018. The Company filed the following instruments on May 15, 2018 to effect the Reincorporation: (i) a certificate of conversion with the Texas Secretary of State; (ii) a certificate of conversion with the Delaware Secretary of State; and (iii) a certificate of incorporation with the Delaware Secretary of State. Pursuant to the plan of conversion, the Company also adopted new bylaws, which became effective with the Reincorporation. The Reincorporation was approved by the Company’s stockholders at its annual meeting on May 14, 2018. Immediately following the Reincorporation, the Company eliminated its holding company structure by merging its wholly-owned subsidiary Private Acer with and into the Company (the “Subsidiary Merger”). The Company was the surviving corporation in connection with the Subsidiary Merger. As the Delaware certificate of incorporation used the placeholder name of “Acer Reincorporation, Inc.” due to “Acer Therapeutics Inc.” already being in existence in Delaware as Private Acer, in connection with the Subsidiary Merger the Company changed its name to “Acer Therapeutics Inc.” pursuant to a certificate of ownership and merger filed with the Delaware Secretary of State on May 15, 2018. As a result of the reincorporation, the par value of the Company’s common stock was reduced to $0.0001 from $0.01.

Basis of Presentation

Accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) require that a company whose security holders retain the majority voting interest in the combined business be treated as the acquirer for financial reporting purposes. Accordingly, the Merger was accounted for as a reverse acquisition whereby Private Acer was treated as the acquirer for accounting and financial reporting purposes. Private Acer was incorporated on December 26, 2013, as part of a reorganization whereby Acer Therapeutics, LLC was converted into a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Delaware.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are of (i) Private Acer up to September 18, 2017, (ii) the Registrant and its wholly-owned subsidiary Private Acer for the period beginning on September 19, 2017, and (iii) the Registrant for the period beginning on May 15, 2018.

All intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared in conformity with GAAP. Any reference in these notes to applicable guidance is meant to refer to the authoritative GAAP as found in the Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) and Accounting Standards Update (ASU) of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018, have been prepared on a going concern basis, which contemplates the realization of assets and the satisfaction of liabilities in the normal course of business.

The accompanying condensed consolidated financial statements are unaudited and have been prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Regulation S-X. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the same basis as the audited annual consolidated financial statements and reflect, in the opinion of management, all adjustments of a normal and recurring nature that are necessary for the fair presentation of the Company’s financial position as of September 30, 2018, the results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017, and the cash flows for the nine months ended September 30, 2018 and 2017. The results of operations for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2018 are not necessarily indicative of the results to be expected for the year ending December 31, 2018 or for any other future annual or interim period. The condensed consolidated balance sheet as of December 31, 2017 included herein was derived from the audited consolidated financial statements as of that date. These unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements included in its 2017 Annual Report on Form 10-K.