A summary of the significant accounting policies followed by the Company in the preparation of the accompanying consolidated financial statements follows:

The Company’s accounting principles require management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Estimates having relatively higher significance include the accounting for acquisitions, stock-based compensation, and income taxes. Actual results could differ from those estimates and changes in estimates may occur.

The Company considers all highly liquid investments with maturities of three months or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.

Assets acquired and liabilities assumed as part of a business acquisition are generally recorded at their fair value at the date of acquisition. The excess of purchase price over the fair value of assets acquired and liabilities assumed is recorded as goodwill. Determining fair value of identifiable assets, particularly intangibles, and liabilities acquired also requires management to make estimates, which are based on all available information and in some cases assumptions with respect to the timing and amount of future revenues and expenses associated with an asset. Accounting for business acquisitions may require management to make judgments and estimates as to the fair value of consideration transferred. These judgments and determinations may affect the amount of consideration paid that is allocable to assets and liabilities acquired in the business purchase transaction.

The Company records stock-based payments at fair value. The measurement date for compensation expense related to employee awards is generally the date of the grant. The measurement date for compensation expense related to nonemployee awards is generally the date that the performance of the awards is completed and, until such time, the fair value of the awards is remeasured at the end of each reporting period. Accordingly, the ultimate expense is not fixed until such awards are vested. The fair value of awards, net of expected forfeitures, is recognized as an expense in the statement of operations over the requisite service period, which is generally the vesting period. The fair value of options is calculated using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. This option valuation model requires the use of assumptions including, among others, the volatility of stock price, the expected term of the option, and the risk-free interest rate.

The following assumptions were used to estimate the fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model:

	2018	2017
Risk-free interest rate	2.76%	1.93%
Expected life (years)	6	6
Volatility	60%	60%
Dividend rate	0%	0%

Due to its limited operating history and a limited trading history of its common stock, the Company estimates the volatility of its stock in consideration of a number of factors including the volatility of comparable public companies. The expected term of a stock option granted to employees and directors (including non-employee directors) is based on the average of the contractual term (generally 10 years) and the vesting period. For other non-employee options, the expected term is the contractual term. The assumed dividend yield is based upon the Company’s expectation of not paying dividends in the foreseeable future. The Company recognizes forfeitures related to employee stock-based awards as they occur. The risk-free rate for periods within the expected life of the option is based upon the United States Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. Prior to the Merger, the fair value of the common stock for the purposes of determining the exercise price of stock options was determined by the Board of Directors after considering a broad range of factors, including the results of a third-party valuation. Subsequent to the Merger, option awards are granted at an exercise price equal to the closing market price of the Company’s common stock on the Nasdaq Capital Market on the date of grant.

In-process research and development (“IPRD”) represents the value of the three G-protein-coupled receptors (“GPCR”) targets (the “Targets”) from the GPCR Target pools of Anchor to which the Company obtained the rights in its March 20, 2015 acquisition of Anchor. IPRD was recorded at fair value and is an indefinite-lived intangible asset. The Company reviews IPRD annually to determine if any adverse conditions exist or a change in circumstances has occurred that would indicate impairment or a change in the remaining useful life of the asset. There were no triggering events or circumstances that would indicate IPRD was impaired as of December 31, 2018 or 2017.

Goodwill represents the excess of cost over fair value of net assets acquired. The Company evaluates the recoverability of goodwill annually, or more frequently if events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of goodwill might be impaired. The Company may opt to perform a qualitative assessment or a quantitative impairment test to determine whether goodwill is impaired. If the Company were to determine based on a qualitative assessment that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit was less than its carrying value, a quantitative impairment test would then be performed. The quantitative impairment test compares the fair value of the reporting unit with its carrying amount, including goodwill. If the estimated fair value of the reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, a goodwill impairment would be recognized for the difference. The Company performed a qualitative analysis of goodwill in the fourth quarter of 2018 and 2017, in which management concluded that it was more likely than not that the fair value of the reporting unit is greater than its carrying amount.

Gains and losses arising from transactions and translation of balances denominated in currencies other than United States dollars are recorded in foreign currency transaction gain/(loss) on the consolidated statements of operations.

The Company is primarily subject to United States federal and Massachusetts state income taxes. The Company’s tax returns for years 2015 through present are open to tax examinations by United States federal and state tax authorities; however, carryforward attributes that were generated prior to January 1, 2015 remain subject to adjustment upon examination if they either have been utilized or will be utilized in a future period. For federal and state income taxes, deferred tax assets and liabilities are recognized based upon temporary differences between the financial statement and the tax basis of assets and liabilities. Deferred income taxes are based upon prescribed rates and enacted laws applicable to periods in which differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is recorded when it is more likely than not that some portion or all of the deferred tax assets will not be realized. Accordingly, the Company provides a valuation allowance, if necessary, to reduce deferred tax assets to amounts that are realizable.

The tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing the Company’s tax returns are required to be evaluated to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely-than-not” of being sustained by the applicable tax authority. Tax positions not deemed to meet a more-likely-than-not threshold would be recorded as a tax expense in the current year. There were no uncertain tax positions that require accrual or disclosure in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2018 and 2017. The Company’s policy is to recognize interest and penalties related to income tax, if any, in income tax expense. As of December 31, 2018 and 2017, the Company had no accruals for interest or penalties related to income tax matters.

Basic and diluted net loss per common share is computed by dividing net loss in each period by the weighted average number of shares of common stock outstanding during such period. For the periods presented, common stock equivalents, consisting of options, convertible redeemable preferred stock and warrants, were not included in the calculation of the diluted loss per share because to do so would be anti-dilutive.

Operating segments are defined as components of an enterprise about which separate discrete information is available for evaluation by the chief operating decision maker, or decision-making group, in deciding how to allocate resources and in assessing performance. The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment, which is the business of a pharmaceutical company focused on the acquisition, development, and commercialization of therapies for serious rare and life-threatening diseases with significant unmet medical needs.

In January 2017, the FASB issued ASU No. 2017-04, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350) (“ASU No. 2017-04”). This ASU eliminates step 2 from the goodwill impairment test by comparing the fair value of a reporting unit with the carrying amount of the reporting unit. If the carrying amount exceeds the fair value, an impairment charge for the excess is recorded. The amendments of this ASU are effective for annual or any interim goodwill impairment tests in fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019. Early adoption is permitted for interim or annual goodwill impairment tests performed on testing dates after January 1, 2017. The Company adopted ASU No. 2017-04 in the fourth quarter of 2018. There was no impact on the Company’s financial statements as a result of the adoption of this guidance.

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842) and subsequently issued several amendments including ASU 2018-11 (collectively, “Topic 842”), which establishes new accounting and disclosure requirements for leases. Topic 842 requires lessees to classify most leases as either finance or operating leases and to initially recognize a lease liability and right-of-use asset. Entities may elect to account for certain short-term leases (with a term of one year or less) using a method similar to the current operating lease model. The statements of operations will include, for finance leases, separate recognition of interest on the lease liability and amortization of the right-of-use asset and for operating leases, a single lease cost, calculated so that the cost of the lease is allocated over the lease term on a straight-line basis. These leases will be required to be presented on the balance sheet in accordance with the requirements of Topic 842, which is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2018, including interim periods therein, with early adoption permitted. Topic 842 may be applied using a modified retrospective approach or by applying the new standard as of the adoption date. The Company intends to adopt Topic 842 in the first quarter of 2019 by applying the new standard as of the adoption date and, consequently, financial information for the comparative periods will not be updated. The Company does not believe that this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated financial statements.

In June 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-07, Compensation—Stock Compensation (Topic 718) Improvements to Nonemployee Share-Based Payment Accounting. The purpose of this amendment is to address aspects of the accounting for nonemployee share-based payment transactions. The amendments in this ASU are effective for public business entities for fiscal years, and for interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2018. The Company does not believe that this guidance will have a material impact on its consolidated results of operations, financial position or disclosures.