Related Party Transactions (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($) director shares	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) shares
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Common stock, number of shares held (in shares) \| shares	26,056,735	16,005,408
Research and development expense	$ 23,045	$ 25,212
Board Members
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Common stock, number of shares held (in shares) \| shares	782,083	1,585,916
Malin
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Number of directors also affiliated with related party during year \| director	2
Malin \| General and administrative
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Recognized out-of-pocket travel expenses		$ 230
Malin \| Novan, Inc
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Beneficial ownership percentage	10.00%
Cilatus BioPharma AG
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Research and development expense	$ 601	$ 69
Estimated fees remaining	$ 230

Amount of estimated fees to be paid to related parties.

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- Definition

Persons serving on entity's board of directors who were also affiliated with related party that resigned during period.

+ References

No definition available.

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Number of shares of common stock outstanding. Common stock represent the ownership interest in a corporation.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 505
-SubTopic 10
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-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 210
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The equity interest of noncontrolling shareholders, partners or other equity holders in consolidated entity.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.

+ References

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 985
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Expenses incurred for travel and entertainment during the period.

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Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 220
-SubTopic 10
-Section S99
-Paragraph 2
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