Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation The accompanying financial statements have been prepared by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”).
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenues, expenses and related disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company invests its excess cash in bank deposits, money market accounts, and short-term investments. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are reported at fair value.
Restricted Cash	Restricted Cash Restricted cash consists of legally restricted amounts held by financial institutions pursuant to contractual arrangements.
Investments	Investments Investments are considered to be available-for-sale and are carried at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses, if any, are reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The cost of investments classified as available-for-sale are adjusted for the amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity and recorded in other income, net. Realized gains and losses, if any, are determined using the specific identification method and recorded in other income, net. Investments with original maturities beyond 90 days at the date of purchase and which mature at, or less than twelve months from, the balance sheet date are classified as current. Investments with a maturity beyond twelve months from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term.
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses	Selling, General and Administrative ExpensesSelling, general and administrative expenses primarily consist of salaries and benefits, stock-based compensation, and costs of programs necessary for the general conduct of the Company's business, including costs associated with the commercialization of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the U.S. Selling, general and administrative expenses are expensed as costs are incurred, services are performed, or goods are delivered. The Company incurred advertising costs of $19.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.
Concentration of Credit Risk	Concentration of Credit Risk Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities consist of financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk. The Company has established guidelines for investment of its excess cash and believes the guidelines maintain safety and liquidity through diversification of counterparties and maturities. The Company enters into a limited number of distribution agreements with distributors and specialty pharmacies. The Company's net product sales are with these customers. As of December 31, 2020, eight customers accounted for all of the Company's net trade receivables.
Inventories	Inventories Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value and recognized on a first-in, first-out ("FIFO") method. The Company uses standard cost to determine the cost basis for inventory. Inventory is capitalized based on when future economic benefit is expected to be realized. The Company began capitalizing inventory upon receiving FDA approval for NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET on February 21, 2020 and February 26, 2020, respectively. Prior to the FDA approval of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET, expenses associated with the manufacturing of the Company's products were recorded as research and development expense. The Company analyzes its inventory levels on a periodic basis to determine if any inventory is at risk for expiration prior to sale or has a cost basis that is greater than its estimated future net realizable value. Any adjustments are recognized through cost of goods sold in the period in which they are incurred.
Segment Information	Segment Information The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment, which is the business of researching, developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated LDL-C.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair Value of Financial Instruments The Company’s cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments are carried at fair value. Financial instruments, including other prepaid and current assets, accounts payable and accrued liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value. Debt is carried at amortized cost, which approximates fair value.
Property and Equipment, Net	Property and Equipment, Net Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, generally three to ten years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the related assets.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets	Impairment of Long-Lived Assets The Company reviews long-lived assets, including property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized when estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition are less than its carrying amount. The impairment loss, if recognized, would be based on the excess of the carrying value of the impaired asset over its respective fair value. No impairment losses have been recorded through December 31, 2020.
Leases	Leases The Company reviews all arrangements to determine if the contract contains a lease or an embedded lease using the criteria in Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 842 Leases ("ASC 842"). If a lease is identified, the Company reviews the consideration in the contract and separates the lease components from the nonlease components. In addition, the Company reviews the classification of the lease between operating and finance leases. According to ASC 842, lessees should discount lease payments at the lease commencement date using the rate implicit in the lease. If the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable, a lessee must use its incremental borrowing rate for purposes of classifying the lease and measuring the right-of-use asset and liability. To the extent the rate is not implicit in the lease, the Company uses the incremental borrowing rate it would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term in an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.
Convertible Notes	Convertible Notes The Company accounts for convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash or equity upon conversion by separating the liability and equity components of the instruments in a manner that reflects the nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. The Company determined the carrying amount of the liability component of the Convertible Notes by using estimates and assumptions that market participants would use in pricing a debt instrument. These estimates and assumptions are judgmental in nature and could have a significant impact on the determination of the debt component, and the associated non-cash interest expense. The equity component is treated as a discount on the liability component of the Convertible Notes, which is amortized over the term of the Convertible Notes using the effective interest rate method. Debt issuance costs related to the Convertible Notes are allocated to the liability and equity components of the Convertible Notes based on their relative values. Debt issuance costs allocated to the liability component are amortized over the life of the Convertible Notes as additional non-cash interest expense. Transaction costs allocated to equity are netted with the equity component of the convertible debt instrument in stockholders’ equity (deficit).
Revenue Interest Liability	Revenue Interest Liability The revenue interest liability is presented net of deferred issuance costs on the balance sheets. The Company imputes interest expense associated with this liability using the effective interest rate method. The effective interest rate is calculated based on the rate that would enable the debt to be repaid in full over the anticipated life of the arrangement. The interest rate on the liability may vary during the term of the agreement depending on a number of factors, including the level of forecasted net sales. The Company evaluates the interest rate quarterly based on its current net sales forecasts utilizing the prospective method.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition In accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("ASC 606"), the Company recognizes revenue when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for the goods or services provided. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606, the Company performs the following five steps: identify the contracts with a customer; identify the performance obligations in the contract; determine the transaction price; allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and recognize revenue when or as the entity satisfies a performance obligation. At contract inception the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when or as the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company derives revenue through two primary sources: collaboration revenue and product sales. Collaboration revenue consists of the collaboration payments to the Company for collaboration arrangements outside of the United States for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the Company's product candidates by the Company's partners and product sales consists of sales of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the United States. a.Collaboration Revenue The Company has entered into agreements related to its activities to develop, manufacture, and commercialize its product candidates. The Company earns collaboration revenue in connection with a collaboration agreement to develop and/or commercialize product candidates where the Company deems the collaborator to be the customer. In accordance with ASC 606, revenue is measured as the amount of consideration expected to be entitled to in exchange for transferring promised goods or providing services to a customer. Revenue is recognized when (or as) the Company satisfies performance obligations under the terms of a contract. Depending on the terms of the arrangement, the Company may defer the recognition of all or a portion of the consideration received as the performance obligations are satisfied. The collaboration agreements may require the Company to deliver various rights, services, and/or goods across the entire life cycle of a product or product candidate. In an agreement involving multiple goods or services promised to be transferred to a customer, the Company must assess, at the inception of the contract, whether each promise represents a separate performance obligation (i.e., is "distinct"), or whether such promises should be combined as a single performance obligation. The terms of the agreements typically include consideration to be provided to the Company in the form of non-refundable up-front payments, development milestones, sales milestones, and royalties on sales of products within a respective territory. The Company recognizes regulatory and approval milestones consideration when it is probable that a future reversal is unlikely to occur. For sales based milestones and royalties based on sales of product in a territory, the Company applies the sales-based royalty exception in ASC 606 to all of these milestones and royalties. At the inception of a contract, the transaction price reflects the amount of consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to its customer. In the arrangement where the Company satisfies performance obligation(s) during the regulatory phase over time, the Company recognizes collaboration revenue typically using an input method on the basis of regulatory costs incurred relative to the total expected cost which determines the extent of progress toward completion. The Company reviews the estimate of the transaction price and the total expected cost each period, and makes revisions to such estimates as necessary. Under contracted supply agreements with collaborators, the Company may manufacture and supply quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) or bulk tablets reasonably required by collaboration partners for the development or sale of licensed products in their respective territory. The Company recognizes revenue when the collaboration partner has obtained control of the API or bulk tablets. The Company records the costs related to the supply agreement in cost of goods sold on the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss). Under the Company's collaboration agreements, product sales and cost of sales may be recorded by the Company's collaborators as they are deemed to be the principal in the transaction. The Company receives royalties from the commercialization of such products, and records its share of the variable consideration, representing a percentage of net product sales, as collaboration revenue in the period in which such underlying sales occur and costs are incurred by the collaborators. The collaborators will provide the Company with estimates of its royalties for such quarter; these estimates are reconciled to actual results in the subsequent quarter, and the royalty is adjusted accordingly, as necessary. Please refer to the discussion in Note 3 "Collaborations with Third Parties" for further discussion of the accounting related to the collaboration agreements. b.Product Sales, Net On March 30, 2020, NEXLETOL was commercially available in the U.S. through prescription and on June 4, 2020, NEXLIZET was commercially available in the U.S. through prescription. Net product sales totaled $13.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020. The Company sells NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET to wholesalers in the U.S and recognizes revenue at the point in time when the customer is deemed to have obtained control of the product. The customer is deemed to have obtained control of the product at the time of physical receipt of the product at the customers’ distribution facilities, or free on board (“FOB”) destination, the terms of which are designated in the contract. Product sales are recorded at the net selling price, which includes estimates of variable consideration for which reserves are established for (a) rebates and chargebacks, (b) co-pay assistance programs, (c) distribution fees, (d) product returns, and (e) other discounts and fees. Where appropriate, these estimates take into consideration a range of possible outcomes which are probability-weighted for relevant factors such as current contractual and statutory requirements, and forecasted customer buying and payment patterns. Overall, these reserves reflect the Company's best estimates of the amount of consideration to which it is entitled based on the terms of the applicable contract. The amount of variable consideration may be constrained and is included in the net sales price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized will not occur in a future period. Given the early stage of the Company’s commercial operations it has provided constraint of its variable consideration due to its potential consumption trends. Actual amounts of consideration ultimately received may differ from the Company's estimates. If actual results in the future vary from estimates, the Company adjusts these estimates, which would affect net product revenue and earnings in the period such variances become known. Liabilities for co-pay assistance, expected product returns, rebates, and distributor fees are classified as “Other accrued liabilities” in the balance sheets. Discounts, such as prompt pay discounts, and chargebacks are recorded as a reduction to trade accounts receivable, which is included in “Other prepaid and current assets” in the balance sheets. Forms of Variable Consideration Rebates and Chargebacks: The Company estimates reductions to product sales for Public Health Service Institutions, such as Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans' Administration ("VA") programs, as well as certain other qualifying federal and state government programs, and other group purchasing organizations. The Company estimates these reductions based upon the Company's contracts with government agencies and other organizations, statutorily defined discounts and estimated payor mix. These organizations purchase directly from the Company's wholesalers at a discount and the wholesalers charge the Company back the difference between the wholesaler price and the discounted price. The Company's liability for Medicare and Medicaid rebates consists of estimates for claims that a state will make for a current quarter. The Company's reserve for this discounted pricing is based on expected sales to qualified healthcare providers and the chargebacks that customers have already claimed. Co-pay assistance: Eligible patients who have commercial insurance may receive assistance from the Company to reduce the patient's out of pocket costs. The Company will buy down the difference between the amount of the eligible patient's co-pay when the drug is purchased at the pharmacy at a determined price. Liabilities for co-pay assistance are calculated by actual program participation from third-party administrators. Distribution Fees: The Company has written contracts with its customers that include terms for distribution fees and costs for inventory management. The Company estimates and records distribution fees due to its customers based on gross sales. Product Returns: The Company generally offers a right of return based on the product’s expiration date and certain spoilage and damaged instances. The Company estimates the amount of product sales that may be returned and records the estimate as a reduction of product sales in the period the related product sales is recognized. The Company’s estimates for expected returns are based primarily on an ongoing analysis of sales information and visibility into the inventory remaining in the distribution channel. Discounts: The Company provides product discounts, such as prompt pay discounts, to its customers. The Company estimates cash discounts based on terms in negotiated contracts and the Company’s expectations regarding future payment patterns.
Cost of Goods Sold	Cost of Goods SoldCost of goods sold is related to the Company's net product sales of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET and the cost of the API supplied to collaboration partners from supply agreements. Cost of goods sold includes the actual product costs, including inbound freight charges and certain outbound freight charges, purchasing, sourcing, inspection and receiving costs.
Research and Development	Research and Development Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred to further the Company’s research and development activities and include salaries and related benefits, costs associated with clinical activities, nonclinical activities, regulatory activities, manufacturing activities to support clinical activities and commercial product manufacturing supply prior to the Company's regulatory approval, research-related overhead expenses, in-licensing agreements and fees paid to external service providers that conduct certain research and development, clinical, and manufacturing activities on behalf of the Company. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred. In accordance with ASC 730, Research and Development, costs incurred in obtaining in-licenses are charged to research and development expense if the in-licensed technology has not reached commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use. Such licenses purchased by the Company require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use.
Accrued Clinical Development Costs	Accrued Clinical Development Costs Outside research costs are a component of research and development expense. These expenses include fees paid to clinical research organizations and other service providers that conduct certain clinical and product development activities on behalf of the Company. Depending upon the timing of payments to the service providers, the Company recognizes prepaid expenses or accrued expenses related to these costs. These accrued or prepaid expenses are based on management’s estimates of the work performed under service agreements, milestones achieved and experience with similar contracts. The Company monitors each of these factors and adjusts estimates accordingly.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company has incurred annual operating losses since inception. Accordingly, it is not more likely than not that the Company will realize a tax benefit from its deferred tax assets and as such, it has recorded a full valuation allowance.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Accordingly, compensation costs related to equity instruments granted are recognized over the requisite service periods of the awards on a straight-line basis at the grant-date fair value calculated using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Expense is recognized during the period the related services are rendered.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires financial instruments to be recognized at an estimate of current expected credit losses. As part of the ASU, financial assets measured at amortized cost will be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. In addition, companies will recognize an allowance for credit losses on available-for-sale investments rather than reducing the amortized cost in an other-than-temporary impairment. The standard is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those years. The Company has chosen the practical expedient to exclude accrued interest from both the fair value and the amortized cost basis of available-for-sale debt securities in identifying and measuring an impairment. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s balance sheets, statements of operations or statements of cash flows. In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract, which includes provisions to clarify customer’s accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement. Under the updated guidance, a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract should follow the internal-use software guidance to determine how to account for costs incurred in implementation. The updated guidance also requires certain classification on the balance sheets, statements of operations and statements of cash flows as well as additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures. The standard is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those years. Entities can choose to adopt the new guidance prospectively or retrospectively. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020, and has chosen to adopt the standard prospectively. Implementation costs for cloud computing arrangements are capitalized in "Other prepaid and current assets" on the Company's balance sheets. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact to the Company’s balance sheets, statements of operations or statements of cash flows. In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards. The amendments in this update simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. The amendments also improve consistent application of and simplify GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance. The amendments within ASU 2019-12 are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, and early adoption is permitted. The Company early adopted this standard for the year ended December 31, 2020, which amended the existing standards for income tax accounting, eliminating the legacy exception on how to allocate income tax expense or benefit for the year to continuing operations, discontinued operations, other comprehensive income, and other charges or credits recorded directly to shareholder’s equity. We did not adjust comparative periods in our financial statements prior to that period. Adoption of the new standard on January 1, 2020 resulted in determining the tax effect of income or loss from continuing operations using a computation that does not consider the tax effects of items that are not included in continuing operations. As such, the Company did not record a tax expense or benefit related to amounts credited directly to shareholder equity. Refer to Note 16 for additional information. In August 2020, the FASB issued 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”). This ASU simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by removing the separation models for convertible debt with cash conversion features and convertible instruments with a beneficial conversion feature, which requires the fair value of the embedded conversion feature of convertible instruments be allocated to equity. Under ASU 2020-06, a convertible debt instrument with those features will generally be reported as a single liability at its amortized cost with no separate accounting for the embedded conversion features in equity. The adoption of this ASU will result in the reclassification of the portion of the Company's convertible notes from equity to debt, which will also reduce reported interest expense and increase reported net income. ASU 2020-06 requires the application of the if-converted method when calculating diluted earnings per share, eliminating the Company’s ability to use the treasury stock method when certain conditions are met. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company plans to early adopt this standard as of January 1, 2021 which will result in a net increase in the Convertible notes of approximately $92.0 million, an adjustment to accumulated deficit of approximately $1.5 million, and a reduction to additional paid-in capital of $93.5 million. The Company does not expect any tax impact of the adoption to be material.

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2020

The accompanying financial statements have been prepared by the Company in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”).

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, net revenues, expenses and related disclosures. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents

The Company invests its excess cash in bank deposits, money market accounts, and short-term investments. The Company considers all highly liquid investments with an original maturity of 90 days or less at the time of purchase to be cash equivalents. Cash equivalents are reported at fair value.

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash consists of legally restricted amounts held by financial institutions pursuant to contractual arrangements.

Investments

Investments are considered to be available-for-sale and are carried at fair value. Unrealized gains and losses, if any, are reported as a separate component of stockholders’ equity. The cost of investments classified as available-for-sale are adjusted for the amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity and recorded in other income, net. Realized gains and losses, if any, are determined using the specific identification method and recorded in other income, net. Investments with original maturities beyond 90 days at the date of purchase and which mature at, or less than twelve months from, the balance sheet date are classified as current. Investments with a maturity beyond twelve months from the balance sheet date are classified as long-term.

Selling, General and Administrative Expenses

Selling, General and Administrative ExpensesSelling, general and administrative expenses primarily consist of salaries and benefits, stock-based compensation, and costs of programs necessary for the general conduct of the Company's business, including costs associated with the commercialization of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the U.S. Selling, general and administrative expenses are expensed as costs are incurred, services are performed, or goods are delivered. The Company incurred advertising costs of $19.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities consist of financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk. The Company has established guidelines for investment of its excess cash and believes the guidelines maintain safety and liquidity through diversification of counterparties and maturities. The Company enters into a limited number of distribution agreements with distributors and specialty pharmacies. The Company's net product sales are with these customers. As of December 31, 2020, eight customers accounted for all of the Company's net trade receivables.

Inventories

Inventories are stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value and recognized on a first-in, first-out ("FIFO") method. The Company uses standard cost to determine the cost basis for inventory. Inventory is capitalized based on when future economic benefit is expected to be realized. The Company began capitalizing inventory upon receiving FDA approval for NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET on February 21, 2020 and February 26, 2020, respectively. Prior to the FDA approval of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET, expenses associated with the manufacturing of the Company's products were recorded as research and development expense.

The Company analyzes its inventory levels on a periodic basis to determine if any inventory is at risk for expiration prior to sale or has a cost basis that is greater than its estimated future net realizable value. Any adjustments are recognized through cost of goods sold in the period in which they are incurred.

Segment Information

The Company views its operations and manages its business in one operating segment, which is the business of researching, developing and commercializing therapies for the treatment of patients with elevated LDL-C.

Fair Value of Financial Instruments

The Company’s cash, cash equivalents, restricted cash and investments are carried at fair value. Financial instruments, including other prepaid and current assets, accounts payable and accrued liabilities are carried at cost, which approximates fair value. Debt is carried at amortized cost, which approximates fair value.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and equipment are recorded at cost, less accumulated depreciation. Depreciation is provided using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets, generally three to ten years. Leasehold improvements are amortized over the lesser of the lease term or the estimated useful lives of the related assets.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

The Company reviews long-lived assets, including property and equipment, for impairment whenever events or changes in business circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of the assets may not be fully recoverable. An impairment loss would be recognized when estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to result from the use of the asset and its eventual disposition are less than its carrying amount. The impairment loss, if recognized, would be based on the excess of the carrying value of the impaired asset over its respective fair value. No impairment losses have been recorded through December 31, 2020.

Leases

The Company reviews all arrangements to determine if the contract contains a lease or an embedded lease using the criteria in Accounting Standards Codification ("ASC") 842 Leases ("ASC 842"). If a lease is identified, the Company reviews the consideration in the contract and separates the lease components from the nonlease components. In addition, the Company reviews the classification of the lease between operating and finance leases. According to ASC 842, lessees should discount lease payments at the lease commencement date using the rate implicit in the lease. If the rate implicit in the lease is not readily determinable, a lessee must use its incremental borrowing rate for purposes of classifying the lease and measuring the right-of-use asset and liability. To the extent the rate is not implicit in the lease, the Company uses the incremental borrowing rate it would have to pay to borrow on a collateralized basis over a similar term in an amount equal to the lease payments in a similar economic environment.

Convertible Notes

The Company accounts for convertible debt instruments that may be settled in cash or equity upon conversion by separating the liability and equity components of the instruments in a manner that reflects the nonconvertible debt borrowing rate. The Company determined the carrying amount of the liability component of the Convertible Notes by using estimates and assumptions that market participants would use in pricing a debt instrument. These estimates and assumptions are judgmental in nature and could have a significant impact on the determination of the debt component, and the associated non-cash interest expense.

The equity component is treated as a discount on the liability component of the Convertible Notes, which is amortized over the term of the Convertible Notes using the effective interest rate method. Debt issuance costs related to the Convertible Notes are allocated to the liability and equity components of the Convertible Notes based on their relative values. Debt issuance costs allocated to the liability component are amortized over the life of the Convertible Notes as additional non-cash interest expense. Transaction costs allocated to equity are netted with the equity component of the convertible debt instrument in stockholders’ equity (deficit).

Revenue Interest Liability

The revenue interest liability is presented net of deferred issuance costs on the balance sheets. The Company imputes interest expense associated with this liability using the effective interest rate method. The effective interest rate is calculated based on the rate that would enable the debt to be repaid in full over the anticipated life of the arrangement. The interest rate on the liability may vary during the term of the agreement depending on a number of factors, including the level of forecasted net sales. The Company evaluates the interest rate quarterly based on its current net sales forecasts utilizing the prospective method.

Revenue Recognition

In accordance with ASC 606, Revenue from Contracts with Customers ("ASC 606"), the Company recognizes revenue when a customer obtains control of promised goods or services, in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company

expects to receive in exchange for the goods or services provided. To determine revenue recognition for arrangements within the scope of ASC 606, the Company performs the following five steps: identify the contracts with a customer; identify the performance obligations in the contract; determine the transaction price; allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract; and recognize revenue when or as the entity satisfies a performance obligation. At contract inception the Company assesses the goods or services promised within each contract and determines those that are performance obligations and assesses whether each promised good or service is distinct. The Company then recognizes as revenue the amount of the transaction price that is allocated to the respective performance obligation when or as the performance obligation is satisfied. The Company derives revenue through two primary sources: collaboration revenue and product sales. Collaboration revenue consists of the collaboration payments to the Company for collaboration arrangements outside of the United States for the development, manufacturing and commercialization of the Company's product candidates by the Company's partners and product sales consists of sales of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET in the United States.

a.Collaboration Revenue

The Company has entered into agreements related to its activities to develop, manufacture, and commercialize its product candidates. The Company earns collaboration revenue in connection with a collaboration agreement to develop and/or commercialize product candidates where the Company deems the collaborator to be the customer. In accordance with ASC 606, revenue is measured as the amount of consideration expected to be entitled to in exchange for transferring promised goods or providing services to a customer. Revenue is recognized when (or as) the Company satisfies performance obligations under the terms of a contract. Depending on the terms of the arrangement, the Company may defer the recognition of all or a portion of the consideration received as the performance obligations are satisfied.

The collaboration agreements may require the Company to deliver various rights, services, and/or goods across the entire life cycle of a product or product candidate. In an agreement involving multiple goods or services promised to be transferred to a customer, the Company must assess, at the inception of the contract, whether each promise represents a separate performance obligation (i.e., is "distinct"), or whether such promises should be combined as a single performance obligation.

The terms of the agreements typically include consideration to be provided to the Company in the form of non-refundable up-front payments, development milestones, sales milestones, and royalties on sales of products within a respective territory. The Company recognizes regulatory and approval milestones consideration when it is probable that a future reversal is unlikely to occur. For sales based milestones and royalties based on sales of product in a territory, the Company applies the sales-based royalty exception in ASC 606 to all of these milestones and royalties.

At the inception of a contract, the transaction price reflects the amount of consideration the Company expects to be entitled to in exchange for transferring promised goods or services to its customer. In the arrangement where the Company satisfies performance obligation(s) during the regulatory phase over time, the Company recognizes collaboration revenue typically using an input method on the basis of regulatory costs incurred relative to the total expected cost which determines the extent of progress toward completion. The Company reviews the estimate of the transaction price and the total expected cost each period, and makes revisions to such estimates as necessary. Under contracted supply agreements with collaborators, the Company may manufacture and supply quantities of active pharmaceutical ingredient (“API”) or bulk tablets reasonably required by collaboration partners for the development or sale of licensed products in their respective territory. The Company recognizes revenue when the collaboration partner has obtained control of the API or bulk tablets. The Company records the costs related to the supply agreement in cost of goods sold on the statements of operations and comprehensive income (loss).

Under the Company's collaboration agreements, product sales and cost of sales may be recorded by the Company's collaborators as they are deemed to be the principal in the transaction. The Company receives royalties from the commercialization of such products, and records its share of the variable consideration, representing a percentage of net product sales, as collaboration revenue in the period in which such underlying sales occur and costs are incurred by the collaborators. The collaborators will provide the Company with estimates of its royalties for such quarter; these estimates are reconciled to actual results in the subsequent quarter, and the royalty is adjusted accordingly, as necessary.

Please refer to the discussion in Note 3 "Collaborations with Third Parties" for further discussion of the accounting related to the collaboration agreements.

b.Product Sales, Net

On March 30, 2020, NEXLETOL was commercially available in the U.S. through prescription and on June 4, 2020, NEXLIZET was commercially available in the U.S. through prescription. Net product sales totaled $13.0 million for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The Company sells NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET to wholesalers in the U.S and recognizes revenue at the point in time when the customer is deemed to have obtained control of the product. The customer is deemed to have obtained control of the product at the time of physical receipt of the product at the customers’ distribution facilities, or free on board (“FOB”) destination, the terms of which are designated in the contract.

Product sales are recorded at the net selling price, which includes estimates of variable consideration for which reserves are established for (a) rebates and chargebacks, (b) co-pay assistance programs, (c) distribution fees, (d) product returns, and (e) other discounts and fees. Where appropriate, these estimates take into consideration a range of possible outcomes which are probability-weighted for relevant factors such as current contractual and statutory requirements, and forecasted customer buying and payment patterns. Overall, these reserves reflect the Company's best estimates of the amount of consideration to which it is entitled based on the terms of the applicable contract. The amount of variable consideration may be constrained and is included in the net sales price only to the extent that it is probable that a significant reversal in the amount of the cumulative revenue recognized will not occur in a future period. Given the early stage of the Company’s commercial operations it has provided constraint of its variable consideration due to its potential consumption trends. Actual amounts of consideration ultimately received may differ from the Company's estimates. If actual results in the future vary from estimates, the Company adjusts these estimates, which would affect net product revenue and earnings in the period such variances become known.

Liabilities for co-pay assistance, expected product returns, rebates, and distributor fees are classified as “Other accrued liabilities” in the balance sheets. Discounts, such as prompt pay discounts, and chargebacks are recorded as a reduction to trade accounts receivable, which is included in “Other prepaid and current assets” in the balance sheets.

Forms of Variable Consideration

Rebates and Chargebacks: The Company estimates reductions to product sales for Public Health Service Institutions, such as Medicaid, Medicare and Veterans' Administration ("VA") programs, as well as certain other qualifying federal and state government programs, and other group purchasing organizations. The Company estimates these reductions based upon the Company's contracts with government agencies and other organizations, statutorily defined discounts and estimated payor mix. These organizations purchase directly from the Company's wholesalers at a discount and the wholesalers charge the Company back the difference between the wholesaler price and the discounted price. The Company's liability for Medicare and Medicaid rebates consists of estimates for claims that a state will make for a current quarter. The Company's reserve for this discounted pricing is based on expected sales to qualified healthcare providers and the chargebacks that customers have already claimed.

Co-pay assistance: Eligible patients who have commercial insurance may receive assistance from the Company to reduce the patient's out of pocket costs. The Company will buy down the difference between the amount of the eligible patient's co-pay when the drug is purchased at the pharmacy at a determined price. Liabilities for co-pay assistance are calculated by actual program participation from third-party administrators.

Distribution Fees: The Company has written contracts with its customers that include terms for distribution fees and costs for inventory management. The Company estimates and records distribution fees due to its customers based on gross sales.

Product Returns: The Company generally offers a right of return based on the product’s expiration date and certain spoilage and damaged instances. The Company estimates the amount of product sales that may be returned and records the estimate as a reduction of product sales in the period the related product sales is recognized. The Company’s estimates for expected returns are based primarily on an ongoing analysis of sales information and visibility into the inventory remaining in the distribution channel.

Discounts: The Company provides product discounts, such as prompt pay discounts, to its customers. The Company estimates cash discounts based on terms in negotiated contracts and the Company’s expectations regarding future payment patterns.

Cost of Goods Sold

Cost of Goods SoldCost of goods sold is related to the Company's net product sales of NEXLETOL and NEXLIZET and the cost of the API supplied to collaboration partners from supply agreements. Cost of goods sold includes the actual product costs, including inbound freight charges and certain outbound freight charges, purchasing, sourcing, inspection and receiving costs.

Research and Development

Research and development expenses consist of costs incurred to further the Company’s research and development activities and include salaries and related benefits, costs associated with clinical activities, nonclinical activities, regulatory activities, manufacturing activities to support clinical activities and commercial product manufacturing supply prior to the Company's regulatory approval, research-related overhead expenses, in-licensing agreements and fees paid to external service providers that conduct certain research and development, clinical, and manufacturing activities on behalf of the Company. Research and development costs are expensed as incurred.

In accordance with ASC 730, Research and Development, costs incurred in obtaining in-licenses are charged to research and development expense if the in-licensed technology has not reached commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use. Such licenses purchased by the Company require substantial completion of research and development, regulatory and marketing approval efforts in order to reach commercial feasibility and has no alternative future use.

Accrued Clinical Development Costs

Outside research costs are a component of research and development expense. These expenses include fees paid to clinical research organizations and other service providers that conduct certain clinical and product development activities on behalf of the Company. Depending upon the timing of payments to the service providers, the Company recognizes prepaid expenses or accrued expenses related to these costs. These accrued or prepaid expenses are based on management’s estimates of the work performed under service agreements, milestones achieved and experience with similar contracts. The Company monitors each of these factors and adjusts estimates accordingly.

Income Taxes

Deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and the tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using enacted tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. The Company has incurred annual operating losses since inception. Accordingly, it is not more likely than not that the Company will realize a tax benefit from its deferred tax assets and as such, it has recorded a full valuation allowance.

Stock-Based Compensation

The Company accounts for stock-based compensation in accordance with the provisions of ASC 718, Compensation—Stock Compensation. Accordingly, compensation costs related to equity instruments granted are recognized over the requisite service periods of the awards on a straight-line basis at the grant-date fair value calculated using a Black-Scholes option-pricing model. The Company accounts for forfeitures as they occur. Expense is recognized during the period the related services are rendered.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In June 2016, the FASB issued Accounting Standard Update ("ASU") 2016-13, Financial Instruments—Credit Losses (Topic 326), which requires financial instruments to be recognized at an estimate of current expected credit losses. As part of the ASU, financial assets measured at amortized cost will be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. In addition, companies will recognize an allowance for credit losses on available-for-sale investments rather than reducing the amortized

cost in an other-than-temporary impairment. The standard is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those years. The Company has chosen the practical expedient to exclude accrued interest from both the fair value and the amortized cost basis of available-for-sale debt securities in identifying and measuring an impairment. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact on the Company’s balance sheets, statements of operations or statements of cash flows.

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-15, Customer’s Accounting for Implementation Costs Incurred in a Cloud Computing Arrangement That Is a Service Contract, which includes provisions to clarify customer’s accounting for implementation costs incurred in a cloud computing arrangement. Under the updated guidance, a customer in a cloud computing arrangement that is a service contract should follow the internal-use software guidance to determine how to account for costs incurred in implementation. The updated guidance also requires certain classification on the balance sheets, statements of operations and statements of cash flows as well as additional quantitative and qualitative disclosures. The standard is effective for public companies for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, and interim periods within those years. Entities can choose to adopt the new guidance prospectively or retrospectively. The Company adopted the standard effective January 1, 2020, and has chosen to adopt the standard prospectively. Implementation costs for cloud computing arrangements are capitalized in "Other prepaid and current assets" on the Company's balance sheets. The adoption of this standard did not have a material impact to the Company’s balance sheets, statements of operations or statements of cash flows.

In December 2019, the FASB issued ASU 2019-12, Income Taxes (Topic 740): Simplifying the Accounting for Income Taxes, as part of its initiative to reduce complexity in accounting standards. The amendments in this update simplify the accounting for income taxes by removing certain exceptions to the general principles in Topic 740. The amendments also improve consistent application of and simplify GAAP for other areas of Topic 740 by clarifying and amending existing guidance. The amendments within ASU 2019-12 are effective for financial statements issued for fiscal years, and interim periods within those fiscal years, beginning after December 15, 2020, and early adoption is permitted. The Company early adopted this standard for the year ended December 31, 2020, which amended the existing standards for income tax accounting, eliminating the legacy exception on how to allocate income tax expense or benefit for the year to continuing operations, discontinued operations, other comprehensive income, and other charges or credits recorded directly to shareholder’s equity. We did not adjust comparative periods in our financial statements prior to that period. Adoption of the new standard on January 1, 2020 resulted in determining the tax effect of income or loss from continuing operations using a computation that does not consider the tax effects of items that are not included in continuing operations. As such, the Company did not record a tax expense or benefit related to amounts credited directly to shareholder equity. Refer to Note 16 for additional information.

In August 2020, the FASB issued 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”). This ASU simplifies the accounting for convertible instruments by removing the separation models for convertible debt with cash conversion features and convertible instruments with a beneficial conversion feature, which requires the fair value of the embedded conversion feature of convertible instruments be allocated to equity. Under ASU 2020-06, a convertible debt instrument with those features will generally be reported as a single liability at its amortized cost with no separate accounting for the embedded conversion features in equity. The adoption of this ASU will result in the reclassification of the portion of the Company's convertible notes from equity to debt, which will also reduce reported interest expense and increase reported net income. ASU 2020-06 requires the application of the if-converted method when calculating diluted earnings per share, eliminating the Company’s ability to use the treasury stock method when certain conditions are met. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2021, with early adoption permitted no earlier than fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020. The Company plans to early adopt this standard as of January 1, 2021 which will result in a net increase in the Convertible notes of approximately $92.0 million, an adjustment to accumulated deficit of approximately $1.5 million, and a reduction to additional paid-in capital of $93.5 million. The Company does not expect any tax impact of the adoption to be material.