Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2023
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Consolidation	Basis of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and Galectin Therapeutics Security Corp., its wholly-owned subsidiary, which was incorporated in Delaware on December 23, 2003 and Galectin Sciences LLC (see Note 13). All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and judgments that may affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management’s estimates and judgments include assumptions used in stock option valuations, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, accrued liabilities, derivative valuations, deferred income taxes and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions.
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements. The Company has certain financial assets and liabilities recorded at fair value. Fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize observable data such as quoted prices in active markets. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs utilize data points other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputs utilize unobservable data points in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions. The estimated value of accounts payable and accrued expenses approximates their carrying value due to their short-term nature. See Footnote 6 for Fair Value of Derivatives related to Convertible Notes Payable at December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are level 3 liabilities.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less at the time of acquisition to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2023 or 2022.
Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets	Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets. Prepaid expenses and other assets consist principally of prepaid insurance, deposits related to the NAVIGATE trial and deferred financing costs (see Note 10).
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment. Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization, and are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets of generally three years for computers and office equipment, five years for furniture and fixtures and the shorter of the useful life or life of the lease for leasehold improvements.
Security Deposit	Security Deposit. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had a security deposit of $6,000 for leased office space included in Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets.
Long-Lived Assets	Long-Lived Assets. The Company reviews all long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held or used is measured by comparison of the carrying value of the asset to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such asset is considered to be impaired, the impairment recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds the discounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. There were no impairments of long-lived assets at December 31, 2023 or 2022.
Accrued Expenses	Accrued Expenses. As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate accrued expenses. This process involves identifying services that third parties have performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred on these services as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include professional service fees, such as those arising from the services of attorneys and accountants and accrued payroll expenses. In connection with these service fees, our estimates are most affected by our understanding of the status and timing of services provided relative to the actual services incurred by the service providers. In the event that we do not identify certain costs that have been incurred or we under- or over-estimate the level of services or costs of such services, our reported expenses for a reporting period could be understated or overstated. The date on which certain services commence, the level of services performed on or before a given date, and the cost of services are often subject to our judgment. We make these judgments based upon the facts and circumstances known to us in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.
Warrants	Warrants. The Company has issued common stock warrants in connection with the execution of certain equity and debt financings. The fair value of warrants is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using assumptions regarding volatility of our common share price, remaining life of the warrant, and risk-free interest rates at each period end. There were no warrant liabilities as of December 31, 2023 or 2022.
Research and Development Expenses	Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses, including personnel costs, allocated facility costs, lab supplies, outside services, contract laboratory costs related to manufacturing drug product, clinical trials and preclinical studies are charged to research and development expense as incurred. The Company accounts for nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities as expense when the service has been performed or when the goods have been received. Our current NAVIGATE clinical trial is being supported by third-party contract research organizations, or CROs, and other vendors. We accrue expenses for clinical trial activities performed by CROs based upon the estimated amount of work completed on each trial. For clinical trial expenses and related expenses associated with the conduct of clinical trials, the significant factors used in estimating accruals include the number of patients enrolled, the number of active clinical sites, and the duration for which the patients have been enrolled in the trial. We monitor patient enrollment levels and related activities to the extent possible through internal reviews, review of contractual terms and correspondence with CROs. We base our estimates on the best information available at the time. We monitor patient enrollment levels and related activities to the extent possible through discussions with CRO personnel and based our estimates of clinical trial costs on the best information available at the time. However, additional information may become available to us which will allow us to make a more accurate estimate in future periods. In that event, we may be required to record adjustments to research and development expenses in future periods when the actual level of activity becomes more certain.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes. The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the accounting rules that requires an asset and liability approach to accounting for income taxes based upon the future expected values of the related assets and liabilities. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and for tax loss and credit carry forwards and are measured using the expected tax rates estimated to be in effect when such basis differences reverse. Valuation allowances are established, if necessary, to reduce the deferred tax asset to the amount that will, more likely than not, be realized.
Concentration of Credit Risk	Concentration of Credit Risk. Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents and certificates of deposit with well-capitalized financial institutions. At times, those amounts may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. The Company has no other significant concentrations of credit risk.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the service period, which generally represents the vesting period. For awards that have performance-based vesting conditions the Company recognizes the expense over the estimated period that the awards are expected to be earned. The Company generally uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to calculate the grant date fair value of stock options. The expense recognized over the service period is required to include an estimate of the awards that will be forfeited.
Recent Accounting Standards	Recent Accounting Standards. In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 effective January 1, 2022. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements. See Notes 5 and 10 for disclosures related to convertible borrowings.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Basis of Consolidation. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and Galectin Therapeutics Security Corp., its wholly-owned subsidiary, which was incorporated in Delaware on December 23, 2003 and Galectin Sciences LLC (see Note 13). All intercompany transactions have been eliminated.

Use of Estimates

Use of Estimates. The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and judgments that may affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, equity, revenue, expenses and related disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities. Management’s estimates and judgments include assumptions used in stock option valuations, useful lives of property and equipment and intangible assets, accrued liabilities, derivative valuations, deferred income taxes and various other assumptions that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements. The Company has certain financial assets and liabilities recorded at fair value. Fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize observable data such as quoted prices in active markets. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs utilize data points other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputs utilize unobservable data points in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions. The estimated value of accounts payable and accrued expenses approximates their carrying value due to their short-term nature. See Footnote 6 for Fair Value of Derivatives related to Convertible Notes Payable at December 31, 2023 and 2022, which are level 3 liabilities.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash and Cash Equivalents. The Company considers all highly-liquid investments with original maturities of 90 days or less at the time of acquisition to be cash equivalents. The Company had no cash equivalents at December 31, 2023 or 2022.

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets

Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets. Prepaid expenses and other assets consist principally of prepaid insurance, deposits related to the NAVIGATE trial and deferred financing costs (see Note 10).

Property and Equipment

Property and Equipment. Property and equipment, including leasehold improvements, are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization, and are depreciated or amortized using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the related assets of generally three years for computers and office equipment, five years for furniture and fixtures and the shorter of the useful life or life of the lease for leasehold improvements.

Security Deposit

Security Deposit. At December 31, 2023 and 2022, the Company had a security deposit of $6,000 for leased office space included in Prepaid Expenses and Other Current Assets.

Long-Lived Assets

Long-Lived Assets. The Company reviews all long-lived assets for impairment whenever events or circumstances indicate the carrying amount of such assets may not be recoverable. Recoverability of assets to be held or used is measured by comparison of the carrying value of the asset to the future undiscounted net cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If such asset is considered to be impaired, the impairment recognized is measured by the amount by which the carrying value of the asset exceeds the discounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. There were no impairments of long-lived assets at December 31, 2023 or 2022.

Accrued Expenses

Accrued Expenses. As part of the process of preparing our consolidated financial statements, we are required to estimate accrued expenses. This process involves identifying services that third parties have performed on our behalf and estimating the level of service performed and the associated cost incurred on these services as of each balance sheet date in our consolidated financial statements. Examples of estimated accrued expenses include professional service fees, such as those arising from the services of attorneys and accountants and accrued payroll expenses. In connection with these service fees, our estimates are most affected by our understanding of the status and timing of services provided relative to the actual services incurred by the service providers. In the event that we do not identify certain costs that have been incurred or we under- or over-estimate the level of services or costs of such services, our reported expenses for a reporting period could be understated or overstated. The date on which certain services commence, the level of services performed on or before a given date, and the cost of services are often subject to our judgment. We make these judgments based upon the facts and circumstances known to us in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the U.S.

Warrants

Warrants. The Company has issued common stock warrants in connection with the execution of certain equity and debt financings. The fair value of warrants is determined using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model using assumptions regarding volatility of our common share price, remaining life of the warrant, and risk-free interest rates at each period end. There were no warrant liabilities as of December 31, 2023 or 2022.

Research and Development Expenses

Research and Development Expenses. Research and development expenses, including personnel costs, allocated facility costs, lab supplies, outside services, contract laboratory costs related to manufacturing drug product, clinical trials and preclinical studies are charged to research and development expense as incurred. The Company accounts for nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities as expense when the service has been performed or when the goods have been received. Our current NAVIGATE clinical trial is being supported by third-party contract research organizations, or CROs, and other vendors. We accrue expenses for clinical trial activities performed by CROs based upon the estimated amount of work completed on each trial. For clinical trial expenses and related expenses associated with the conduct of clinical trials, the significant factors used in estimating accruals include the number of patients enrolled, the number of active clinical sites, and the duration for which the patients have been enrolled in the trial. We monitor patient enrollment levels and related activities to the extent possible through internal reviews, review of contractual terms and correspondence with CROs. We base our estimates on the best information available at the time. We monitor patient enrollment levels and related activities to the extent possible through discussions with CRO personnel and based our estimates of clinical trial costs on the best information available at the time. However, additional information may become available to us which will allow us to make a more accurate estimate in future periods. In that event, we may be required to record adjustments to research and development expenses in future periods when the actual level of activity becomes more certain.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes. The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with the accounting rules that requires an asset and liability approach to accounting for income taxes based upon the future expected values of the related assets and liabilities. Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the differences between the financial reporting and tax bases of assets and liabilities and for tax loss and credit carry forwards and are measured using the expected tax rates estimated to be in effect when such basis differences reverse. Valuation allowances are established, if necessary, to reduce the deferred tax asset to the amount that will, more likely than not, be realized.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Concentration of Credit Risk. Financial instruments that subject the Company to credit risk consist of cash and cash equivalents. The Company maintains cash and cash equivalents and certificates of deposit with well-capitalized financial institutions. At times, those amounts may exceed federally insured limits. The Company has not experienced any losses in such accounts and believes it is not exposed to significant credit risk beyond the normal credit risk associated with commercial banking relationships. The Company has no other significant concentrations of credit risk.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation. Stock-based compensation cost is measured at the grant date based on the fair value of the award and is recognized as expense over the service period, which generally represents the vesting period. For awards that have performance-based vesting conditions the Company recognizes the expense over the estimated period that the awards are expected to be earned. The Company generally uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to calculate the grant date fair value of stock options. The expense recognized over the service period is required to include an estimate of the awards that will be forfeited.

Recent Accounting Standards

Recent Accounting Standards. In August 2020, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2020-06, Debt — Debt with Conversion and Other Options (Subtopic 470-20) and Derivatives and Hedging — Contracts in Entity’s Own Equity (Subtopic 815-40) (“ASU 2020-06”) to simplify accounting for certain financial instruments. ASU 2020-06 eliminates the current models that require separation of beneficial conversion and cash conversion features from convertible instruments and simplifies the derivative scope exception guidance pertaining to equity classification of contracts in an entity’s own equity. The new standard also introduces additional disclosures for convertible debt and freestanding instruments that are indexed to and settled in an entity’s own equity. ASU 2020-06 amends the diluted earnings per share guidance, including the requirement to use the if-converted method for all convertible instruments. ASU 2020-06 is effective January 1, 2022 and should be applied on a full or modified retrospective basis, with early adoption permitted beginning on January 1, 2021. The Company adopted ASU 2020-06 effective January 1, 2022. The adoption of ASU 2020-06 did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements. See Notes 5 and 10 for disclosures related to convertible borrowings.