(1) BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
(1) BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION	(1) BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION A.P. Pharma, Inc. (the "Company," "we," "us" and "our") is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing products using its proprietary Biochronomer^™ polymer-based drug delivery platform. This drug delivery platform is designed to improve the therapeutic profile of injectable pharmaceuticals by converting them from products that must be injected once or twice per day to products that need to be injected only once every one or two weeks. The Company’s lead product candidate, APF530, is being developed for the prevention of both acute- and delayed-onset chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). One of the most debilitating side effects of cancer chemotherapy, CINV is a leading cause of premature discontinuation of treatment. There is only one injectable 5-HT3 antagonist approved for the prevention of delayed-onset CINV, so this indication represents an area of particular unmet medical need. APF530 contains the 5-HT3 antagonist granisetron formulated in the Company’s proprietary Biochronomer™ drug delivery system, which allows therapeutic drug levels to be maintained for five days with a single subcutaneous injection. This five-day range is designed to cover the delayed phase of CINV, whereas currently available intravenous and oral formulations of granisetron are approved only for the prevention of acute-onset CINV. Granisetron was selected for APF530 because it is widely prescribed by physicians based on a well-established record of safety and efficacy. In May 2009, we filed the original New Drug Application (NDA) seeking approval for APF530 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for APF530 in March 2010. We met with the FDA in February and March 2011 to clarify the work needed to resubmit the NDA. In September 2012, we resubmitted the NDA seeking approval for APF530 with the FDA. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of March 27, 2013. We own the worldwide rights to APF530 and are in the early stages of building the commercial infrastructure necessary to commercialize APF530 in the U.S. on our own. We are seeking corporate partners to commercialize APF530 in markets outside of the U.S. The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. All adjustments (all of which are of a normal recurring nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. We have evaluated subsequent events through the date that these financial statements were issued. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012 or for any other period. The condensed balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements as of that date, but it does not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP. These unaudited condensed financial statements and the notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 26, 2012 (2011 10-K). Liquidity We have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations and have an accumulated deficit of $175.9 million as of September 30, 2012. During 2011, we entered into two financing agreements, which provided us capital to fund operations. In April 2011, we entered into definitive agreements for a convertible note financing, which served as a bridge loan to fund the Company's operations until additional financing was secured (see Note 9). The initial cash received from the bridge loan financing was approximately $1.3 million, net of issuance costs. In June 2011, we entered into definitive agreements for a private placement of units, which comprised of common stock and warrants (see Note 10). The unit financing, which closed in July 2011, provided the Company with approximately $22.8 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs. In May 2012, we received $3.0 million of cash through the issuance of additional convertible notes as a result of the purchasers who participated in the April 2011 convertible note financing fully exercising their rights to purchase additional convertible notes. In July 2012, the Company closed a common stock financing whereby the Company received approximately $50.5 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs (see Note 10). As of September 30, 2012, we had cash and cash equivalents of $60.0 million. The Company believes that its current capital is sufficient to fund its planned operations through the anticipated product launch of APF530 in 2013, assuming FDA approval. Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. We evaluate our critical accounting policies and estimates on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Our critical accounting policies and estimates are discussed in our 2011 10-K. Recent Accounting Pronouncements There have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the nine months ended September 30, 2012, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our 2011 10-K, that we believe are of significance, or potential significance, to us.

(1) BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

(1) BUSINESS AND BASIS OF PRESENTATION

A.P. Pharma, Inc. (the "Company," "we," "us" and "our") is a specialty pharmaceutical company developing products using its proprietary Biochronomer^™ polymer-based drug delivery platform. This drug delivery platform is designed to improve the therapeutic profile of injectable pharmaceuticals by converting them from products that must be injected once or twice per day to products that need to be injected only once every one or two weeks.

The Company’s lead product candidate, APF530, is being developed for the prevention of both acute- and delayed-onset chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV). One of the most debilitating side effects of cancer chemotherapy, CINV is a leading cause of premature discontinuation of treatment. There is only one injectable 5-HT3 antagonist approved for the prevention of delayed-onset CINV, so this indication represents an area of particular unmet medical need. APF530 contains the 5-HT3 antagonist granisetron formulated in the Company’s proprietary Biochronomer™ drug delivery system, which allows therapeutic drug levels to be maintained for five days with a single subcutaneous injection. This five-day range is designed to cover the delayed phase of CINV, whereas currently available intravenous and oral formulations of granisetron are approved only for the prevention of acute-onset CINV. Granisetron was selected for APF530 because it is widely prescribed by physicians based on a well-established record of safety and efficacy.

In May 2009, we filed the original New Drug Application (NDA) seeking approval for APF530 with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA issued a Complete Response Letter for APF530 in March 2010. We met with the FDA in February and March 2011 to clarify the work needed to resubmit the NDA. In September 2012, we resubmitted the NDA seeking approval for APF530 with the FDA. The FDA set a Prescription Drug User Fee Act (PDUFA) action date of March 27, 2013.

We own the worldwide rights to APF530 and are in the early stages of building the commercial infrastructure necessary to commercialize APF530 in the U.S. on our own. We are seeking corporate partners to commercialize APF530 in markets outside of the U.S.

The accompanying unaudited condensed financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (U.S. GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 8 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. All adjustments (all of which are of a normal recurring nature) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. We have evaluated subsequent events through the date that these financial statements were issued. Operating results for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012 or for any other period. The condensed balance sheet as of December 31, 2011 has been derived from the audited financial statements as of that date, but it does not include all of the information and notes required by U.S. GAAP. These unaudited condensed financial statements and the notes thereto should be read in conjunction with the audited financial statements and notes thereto included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011, which was filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 26, 2012 (2011 10-K).

Liquidity

We have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations and have an accumulated deficit of $175.9 million as of September 30, 2012. During 2011, we entered into two financing agreements, which provided us capital to fund operations. In April 2011, we entered into definitive agreements for a convertible note financing, which served as a bridge loan to fund the Company's operations until additional financing was secured (see Note 9). The initial cash received from the bridge loan financing was approximately $1.3 million, net of issuance costs. In June 2011, we entered into definitive agreements for a private placement of units, which comprised of common stock and warrants (see Note 10). The unit financing, which closed in July 2011, provided the Company with approximately $22.8 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs. In May 2012, we received $3.0 million of cash through the issuance of additional convertible notes as a result of the purchasers who participated in the April 2011 convertible note financing fully exercising their rights to purchase additional convertible notes. In July 2012, the Company closed a common stock financing whereby the Company received approximately $50.5 million of proceeds, net of issuance costs (see Note 10). As of September 30, 2012, we had cash and cash equivalents of $60.0 million. The Company believes that its current capital is sufficient to fund its planned operations through the anticipated product launch of APF530 in 2013, assuming FDA approval.

Critical Accounting Policies and Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. GAAP requires our management to make estimates and assumptions about future events that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates. We evaluate our critical accounting policies and estimates on an ongoing basis. We base our estimates on historical experience and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results may differ from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions. Our critical accounting policies and estimates are discussed in our 2011 10-K.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

There have been no recent accounting pronouncements or changes in accounting pronouncements during the nine months ended September 30, 2012, as compared to the recent accounting pronouncements described in our 2011 10-K, that we believe are of significance, or potential significance, to us.