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Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Millions	Dec. 31, 2019	Mar. 30, 2020	Jun. 28, 2019
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2019
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2019
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Registrant Name	ACURA PHARMACEUTICALS, INC
Entity Central Index Key	0000786947
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Interactive Data Current	Yes
Entity Filer Category	Non-accelerated Filer
Entity Small Business	true
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Shell Company	false
Title of 12(b) Security	Common Stock, $0.01 par value
Trading Symbol	ACUR
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		21,650,294
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Public Float			$ 1.0
Amendment Flag	false

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Assets:
Cash	$ 862	$ 91
Royalty receivable	82	137
Collaboration revenue receivable from related party	78
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	122	166
Income tax receivable	34	67
Total current assets	1,178	461
Income tax receivable	34	68
Property, plant and equipment, net (Note 5)	540	606
Intangible asset, net of accumulated amortization of $1,190 and $983 (Note 3)	810	1,017
Total assets	2,562	2,152
Liabilities:
Accounts payable	237	605
Accrued expenses (Note 6)	585	596
Other current liabilities (Note 11)	29	11
Sales returns liability	223	223
Total current liabilities	1,074	1,435
Convertible debt to related party, net of discounts (Note 7)	6,000	4,224
Accrued interest to related party (Note 7)	229	110
Total liabilities	7,303	5,769
Commitments and contingencies (Note 14)
Stockholders' deficit:
Common stock - $0.01 par value per share; 100,000 shares authorized, 21,300 and 21,034 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively	213	210
Additional paid-in capital	383,042	380,395
Accumulated deficit	(387,996)	(384,222)
Total stockholders' deficit	(4,741)	(3,617)
Total liabilities and stockholders' deficit	$ 2,562	$ 2,152

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Revenues:
Royalties	$ 372	$ 410
Collaboration	185	0
License fees	2,100	0
Total revenues	2,657	410
Expenses:
Research and development	1,505	1,759
General and administrative	1,877	2,566
Total operating expenses	3,382	4,325
Operating loss	(725)	(3,915)
(Loss) gain on debt extinguishment (Note 7)	(2,600)	296
Interest expense, net (Note 7)	(449)	(223)
Loss before provision for income taxes	(3,774)	(3,842)
Provision for income taxes	0	0
Net loss	$ (3,774)	$ (3,842)
Net loss per share (Note 13):
Basic	$ (0.14)	$ (0.18)
Diluted	$ (0.14)	$ (0.18)
Weighted average number of shares outstanding:
Basic	26,720	21,146
Diluted	26,720	21,146

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN STOCKHOLDERS' DEFICIT - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Common Stock	Additional Paid-in Capital	Accumulated Deficit	Total
Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 208	$ 380,145	$ (380,380)	$ (27)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017	20,796
Net loss			(3,842)	(3,842)
Net distribution of common stock pursuant to restricted stock unit award plan	$ 2	32		34
Net distribution of common stock pursuant to restricted stock unit award plan (in shares)	238
Non-cash share-based compensation		218		218
Balance at Dec. 31, 2018	$ 210	380,395	(384,222)	(3,617)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2018	21,034
Net loss			(3,774)	(3,774)
Net distribution of common stock pursuant to restricted stock unit award plan	$ 3	12		15
Net distribution of common stock pursuant to restricted stock unit award plan (in shares)	266
Non-cash share-based compensation		108		108
Debt premium from debt modification		1,382		1,382
Issuance of warrant		1,145		1,145
Balance at Dec. 31, 2019	$ 213	$ 383,042	$ (387,996)	$ (4,741)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2019	21,300

- Definition

The portion of profit or loss for the period, net of income taxes, which is attributable to the parent.

+ References + Details

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Cash Flows from Operating Activities:
Net loss	$ (3,774)	$ (3,842)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation	66	73
Non-cash share-based compensation	108	218
Capitalized debt discount	(13)	(172)
Amortization of debt discount and deferred debt issue costs	66	87
Amortization of intangible asset	207	207
Loss (gain) on debt extinguishment	2,600	(296)
Loss on disposals of property, plant and equipment	1
Changes in assets and liabilities:
Royalty receivable	55	(66)
Collaboration revenue receivable from related party	(78)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	44	109
Income tax receivable	67
Accounts payable	(368)	602
Accrued expenses	(11)	(343)
Accrued interest on loan		(566)
Accrued interest on related party loans	394	110
Other current liabilities	18	2
Sales returns liability		(31)
Net cash used in operating activities	(618)	(3,908)
Cash Flows from Financing Activities:
Proceeds from distribution of restricted stock units	14	2
Proceeds from related party loans	1,375	4,350
Principal payments loan		(2,573)
Net cash provided by financing activities	1,389	1,779
Net increase (decrease) in cash	771	(2,129)
Cash at beginning of period	91	2,220
Cash at end of period	$ 862	91
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Cash interest payments on loan		$ 759

OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 1 – OPERATIONS AND SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Principal Operations

Acura Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a New York corporation, and its subsidiary (the “Company”, “Acura”, “We”, “Us” or “Our”) is an innovative drug delivery company engaged in the research, development and commercialization of technologies and products intended to address safe use of medications. We have discovered and developed three proprietary platform technologies which can be used to develop multiple products. Our Limitx™ Technology is intended to minimize the risks and side effects associated with overdose by retarding the release of active drug ingredients when too many tablets are accidently or purposefully ingested. Our Aversion® Technology is intended to address methods of product tampering associated with opioid abuse by incorporating gelling ingredients and irritants into tablets to discourage abuse by snorting and provide barriers to abuse by injection. Our Impede® Technology is directed at minimizing the extraction and conversion of pseudoephedrine tablets into methamphetamine.

Our Limitx Technology is in development with immediate-release tablets containing hydrocodone bitartrate and acetaminophen (also known as LTX-03) as the lead product candidate due to its large market size and its known prevalence of oral excessive tablet abuse and overdose. The technology is designed to retard the release of active opioid drug when too many tablets are accidentally or purposefully ingested by neutralizing stomach acid with buffer ingredients but deliver efficacious amounts of drug when taken as a single tablet with a nominal buffer dose. US commercialization rights to LTX-03 are licensed to Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC (See Note 3).

Our Aversion Technology has been licensed to Zyla Life Sciences or Zyla (formerly known as Egalet Corporation) for use in Oxaydo® Tablets (oxycodone HCl, CII), and is the first approved immediate-release oxycodone product in the United States with abuse deterrent labeling. Oxaydo is currently approved by the FDA for marketing in the United States in 5mg and 7.5mg strengths (See Note 3).

Our Impede Technology is used in Nexafed® Tablets (30mg pseudoephedrine HCl) and Nexafed® Sinus Pressure + Pain Tablets (30/325mg pseudoephedrine HCl and acetaminophen). We have licensed to MainPointe Pharmaceuticals, LLC (MainPointe), our Impede Technology in the United States and Canada to commercialize these Nexafed products (See Note 3).

Basis of Presentation, Liquidity and Substantial Doubt in Going Concern

The accompanying consolidated financial statements of the Company have been prepared assuming the Company will continue as a going concern and in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America. The going concern basis of presentation assumes that we will continue in operation one year after the date these financial statements are issued and we will be able to realize our assets and discharge our liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. As of December 31, 2019, we had cash of $862 thousand, working capital of $104 thousand and an accumulated deficit of $388 million. We had a loss from operations of $725 thousand and a net loss of $3.8 million for the year ended December 31, 2019. We have suffered recurring losses from operations and have not generated positive cash flows from operations. We anticipate operating losses to continue for the foreseeable future.

On June 28, 2019, we entered into with Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC ("AD Pharma"), a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement (the "AD Pharma Agreement"). AD Pharma has the right to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement for "convenience on 30 days prior written notice". Under the AD Pharma Agreement, the required monthly license payments by AD Pharma will only continue until November 2020 if AD Pharma does not exercise their right to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement. To fund further operations, we must raise additional financing or enter into license or collaboration agreements with third parties relating to our technologies or explore a variety of capital raising and other transactions to provide additional funding. No assurance can be given that we will be successful in obtaining any such financing or in securing license or collaboration agreements with third parties on acceptable terms, if at all, or if secured, that such financing or license or collaboration agreements will provide payments to the Company sufficient to fund continued operations and the Company will be required to scale back or terminate operations and/or seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws. Delay or cessation of the Company's continuing product development efforts will have a material adverse effect on the Company's financial condition and results of operations. Should AD Pharma exercise their right to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement, we would need to raise additional financing or enter into license or collaboration agreements with third parties relating to our technologies. The Company's ability to raise additional capital may be adversely impacted by potential worsening global economic conditions and the recent disruptions to, and volatility in, financial markets in the United States and worldwide resulting from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. No assurance can be given that we will be successful in obtaining any such financing or in securing license or collaboration agreements with third parties on acceptable terms, if at all, or if secured, that such financing or license or collaboration agreements will provide payments to the Company sufficient to fund continued operations. In the absence of such financing or third-party license or collaboration agreements, the Company will be required to scale back or terminate operations and/or seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws. An extended delay or cessation of the Company’s continuing product development efforts will have a material adverse effect on the Company’s financial condition and results of operations.

In view of the matters described above, management has concluded that substantial doubt exists with respect to the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued. The recoverability of a major portion of the recorded asset amounts shown in the Company’s accompanying consolidated balance sheets is dependent upon continued operations of the Company, which in turn is dependent upon the Company’s ability to meet its funding requirements on a continuous basis, to maintain existing financing and to succeed in its future operations. The Company’s financial statements do not include any adjustment relating to the recoverability and classification of recorded asset amounts and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue in existence.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

NOTE 2 – SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Accounting

The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of our wholly-owned subsidiary, Acura Pharmaceutical Technologies Inc., after elimination of intercompany accounts and transactions. Amounts presented have been rounded to the nearest thousand, where indicated, except share and per share data.

Use of Estimates

Management is required to make certain estimates and assumptions in order to prepare consolidated financial statements in conformity with GAAP. Such estimates and assumptions affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities in the consolidated financial statements and accompanying notes. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Management periodically evaluates estimates used in the preparation of the consolidated financial statements for continued reasonableness. Appropriate adjustments, if any, to the estimates used are made prospectively based on such periodic evaluations.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a significant concentration of credit risk consist primarily of cash and cash equivalents, royalty receivables and collaboration revenue receivable. The Company maintains deposits in federally insured financial institutions which are in excess of federally insured limits. However, management believes the Company is not exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held.

Fair Value Measurements

The Company’s financial instruments consist primarily of cash, royalties and collaboration receivables, trade accounts payable, and debt. The carrying amounts of these financial instruments, other than our debt, are representative of their respective fair values due to their relatively short maturities. On June 28, 2019, we restructured the $5.0 million related party loan to borrow an additional $725 thousand from Mr. Schutte, bringing the aggregate principal of the loans and accrued interest to $6.0 million, and consolidated the loans into a single promissory note, and reported the debt using fair value for the changes to the loan resulting in the recognizing a $2.6 million loss on debt extinguishment. The fair value of the $6.0 million loan at December 31, 2019 has not materially changed from its valuation of fair value of $7.4 million.

Share-based Compensation Expense

We have several share-based compensation plans covering stock options and RSUs for our employees and directors, which are described more fully in Note 11.

We measure our compensation cost related to share-based payment transactions based on fair value of the equity or liability classified instrument. For purposes of estimating the fair value of each stock option unit on the date of grant, we utilize the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Option valuation models require the input of highly subjective assumptions including the expected volatility factor of the market price of our common stock (as determined by reviewing our historical public market closing prices). Our accounting for share-based compensation for RSUs is based on the closing market price of our common stock on the date of grant.

Our total share-based compensation expense recognized in the Company’s results of operations from non-cash and cash-portioned instruments issued to our employees and directors comprised the following (in thousands):


	Year Ended
	December 31,
	2019		2018
Research and development expense:
Stock option awards	$	8	$	38
RSU awards		13		27
	$	21	$	65

General and administrative expense:
Stock option awards		12		61
RSU awards		105		104
	$	117	$	165

Total share-based compensation expense	$	138	$	230

Property, Plant and Equipment

Property, plant and equipment are stated at cost, less accumulated depreciation. We have no leasehold improvements. Betterments are capitalized and maintenance and repairs are charged to operations as incurred. When a depreciable asset is retired from service, the cost and accumulated depreciation is removed from the respective accounts.

Depreciation expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. The estimated useful lives of the major classification of depreciable assets are:


Building and improvements		10 - 40 years
Land and improvements		20 - 40 years
Machinery and equipment		7 - 10 years
Scientific equipment		5 - 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 - 10 years

Intangible and Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets such as the intangible asset and property, plant and equipment are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying value of an asset may not be recoverable. Recoverability of the assets to be held and used is measured by a comparison of the carrying amount of the asset to estimated undiscounted future cash flows expected to be generated by the asset. If the carrying value of an asset exceeds its estimated future cash flows, an impairment charge is recognized by the amount by which the carrying amount of the asset exceeds the fair value of the asset. We had no impairment charges during the years 2019 or 2018.

License Fee Revenue

On signing the AD Pharma Agreement in June 2019, Acura will receive a monthly license payment of $350 thousand by AD Pharma for 18 months until November 2020. The first license payment was received July 2, 2019. If the NDA filing for LTX-03 is not accepted by the FDA by November 30, 2020, AD Pharma has the option to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement and take ownership of the Limitx intellectual property. Should AD Pharma choose not to exercise this option to terminate and the NDA for LTX-03 is subsequently accepted by the FDA, such option expires. AD Pharma does have the right to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement anytime for “convenience on 30 days prior written notice” and the license fee payments will stop. The license fee payments are non-refundable and non-creditable when made by AD Pharma and we had no further requirements to earn the payment. The license payment amount is recognized as revenue when received (See Note 3). During 2019 we recognized $2.1 million of license fee revenue from AD Pharma.

Collaboration Revenue

Collaboration revenue is derived from reimbursement of development expenses, such as under our agreement with AD Pharma, and are recognized when costs are incurred pursuant to the agreements. The ongoing research and development services being provided under the collaboration are priced at fair value based upon the reimbursement of expenses incurred pursuant to the collaboration agreements. We recognized $185 thousand of collaboration revenue during the year 2019. We did not have collaboration revenue during the year 2018.

Royalty Revenue

We recognize revenue from royalties based on our licensees' sales of our products or products using our technologies. Royalties are sales-based royalties which are recognized as the related sales occur. These royalties were promised in exchange for a license of intellectual property.

In connection with our Collaboration and License Agreement with Zyla to commercialize Oxaydo tablets we will receive a stepped royalty at percentage rates ranging from mid-single digits to double-digits based on Oxaydo net sales during each calendar year over the term of the agreement (excluding net sales resulting from any co-promotion efforts by us). We recognize royalty revenue each calendar quarter based on net sales reported to us by Zyla in accordance with the agreement. Zyla’s first commercial sale of Oxaydo occurred in October 2015 and we have recorded royalties of $351 thousand and $386 thousand on net sales for the years 2019 and 2018, respectively (See Note 3).

In connection with the MainPointe Agreement, which occurred on March 16, 2017, we are receiving a royalty of 7.5% on net sales of the licensed products over the term of the agreement. Such royalty shall be payable for sales made during each calendar quarter and payment will be remitted within forty-five (45) days after the end of the quarter to which it relates. We have recorded royalties of $21 thousand and $24 thousand for the years 2019 and 2018 (See Note 3).

Deferred Debt Issuance Costs and Debt Discount

Deferred debt issuance costs include costs of debt financing undertaken by the Company, including legal fees, placement fees and other direct costs of the financing. Debt discount can be incurred from value attributable to warrants issued in conjunction with the financing and/or attributable to the below market rate element of the loan if we believe the loan’s rate of interest is below current market rates for us, as in the case of the Schutte Loans. Debt issuance costs and debt discount are amortized into interest expense over the term of the related debt using the effective interest method. Deferred debt issuance costs and debt discount are presented on the consolidated balance sheets as a direct reduction against the debt balance at December 31, 2018. On June 28, 2019, we restructured the $5.0 million related party loan and reported the debt using fair value for the changes to the loan and in doing so, the unamortized debt discount was written off as a loss on debt extinguishment. During the years ended 2019 and 2018, we recognized interest expense from the amortization of debt issuance costs and debt discount of $66 thousand and $87 thousand, respectively.

Research and Development Activities

Research and Development (“R&D”) costs include internal R&D activities, external Contract Research Organization (“CRO”) services and their clinical research and investigative sites, and other activities. Internal R&D activity costs can include facility overhead, equipment and facility maintenance and repairs, laboratory supplies, pre-clinical laboratory experiments, formulation work, depreciation, salaries, benefits, insurance and share-based compensation expenses. CRO activity costs can include preclinical laboratory experiments and clinical trial studies. Other activity costs can include regulatory consulting, regulatory legal counsel, cost of acquiring, developing and manufacturing pre-clinical trial materials, costs of manufacturing scale-up, and cost sharing expenses under license agreements. Internal R&D costs and other activity costs are charged to expense as incurred. We make payments to the CRO's based on agreed upon terms and may include payments in advance of a study starting date. Payments in advance will be reflected in the consolidated financial statements as prepaid expenses. We review and charge to expense accrued CRO costs and clinical trial study costs based on services performed and rely on estimates of those costs applicable to the stage of completion of a study as provided by the CRO. Our accrued CRO costs are subject to revisions as such studies progress towards completion. Revisions are charged to expense in the period in which the facts that give rise to the revision become known.

We did not have prepaid CRO costs or prepaid clinical trial study expenses at December 31, 2019 and 2018. In connection with our development and scale-up of LTX-03 under the AD Pharma Agreement (See Note 3) we entered into obligations under non-cancelable arrangements at December 31, 2019 aggregating $502 thousand.

Income Taxes

We account for income taxes under the liability method. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between the financial reporting and the income tax basis of assets and liabilities and are measured using the enacted income tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse. Additionally, net operating loss and tax credit carryforwards are reported as deferred income tax assets. The realization of deferred income tax assets is dependent upon future earnings. A valuation allowance is required against deferred income tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred income tax assets may not be realized. At December 31, 2019 and 2018, 100% of all remaining net deferred income tax assets were offset by a valuation allowance due to uncertainties with respect to future utilization of net operating loss carryforwards. If in the future it is determined that additional amounts of our deferred income tax assets would likely be realized, the valuation allowance would be reduced in the period in which such determination is made and an additional benefit from income taxes in such period would be recognized.

Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) per Share

Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income or loss by the weighted average common shares outstanding during a period, including shares weighted related to both vested Restricted Stock Units (“RSUs”) which settle in shares (See Note 12) and a stock warrant exercisable for 10.0 million shares having an exercise price of $0.01 per share (See Note 8). Diluted EPS is based on the treasury stock method and computed based on the same number of shares used in the basic share calculation and includes the effect from potential issuance of common stock, such as shares issuable pursuant to the exercise of stock options and stock warrants, assuming the exercise of all in-the-money stock options and warrants. Common stock equivalents are excluded from the computation where their inclusion would be anti-dilutive. As the Company reported a net loss in 2019 and 2018 the effects of common stock equivalents were excluded as the diluted net loss per share calculation would have been antidilutive. The weighted-average common share outstanding diluted computation is not impacted during any period where the exercise price of a stock option, common stock warrant or convertible loan is greater than the average market price of our common stock.

Customer Concentration

Under our agreement with MainPointe, we earn royalties from MainPointe sale of the licensed product line Nexafed, and under our license agreement with Zyla, we earn royalties from Zyla’s sale of the licensed product Oxaydo.

In June 2019 we signed a license, development and commercialization agreement with AD Pharma. Acura will receive a monthly license payment of $350 thousand by AD Pharma for 18 months until November 2020. The first license payment was received July 2, 2019. If the NDA filing for LTX-03 is not accepted by the FDA by November 30, 2020, AD Pharma has the option to terminate the agreement and take ownership of the Limitx intellectual property. Should AD Pharma choose not to exercise this option to terminate and the NDA for LTX-03 is subsequently accepted by the FDA, such option expires. AD Pharma does have the right to terminate the agreement anytime for “convenience on 30 days prior written notice” and the license fee payments will stop. On January 1, 2020, MainPointe assigned to AD Pharma, with Acura’s consent, all of its right, title and interest in the MainPointe Agreement between MainPointe and Acura dated March 16, 2017.

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

New accounting standards which have been adopted on or before December 31, 2019

Collaborative Arrangements

In November 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-18, Collaborative Arrangements (ASC 808): Clarifying the Interaction between ASC 808 and ASC 606, which clarifies that certain transactions between collaborative arrangement participants should be accounted for as revenue under ASC 606 when the collaborative arrangement participant is a customer in the context of a unit of account. In those situations, all the guidance in ASC 606 should be applied, including recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure requirements. This ASU adds unit-of-account guidance in ASC 808 to align with the guidance in ASC 606 (that is, a distinct good or service) when an entity is assessing whether the collaborative arrangement or a part of the arrangement is within the scope of ASC 606, and requires that in a transaction with a collaborative arrangement participant that is not directly related to sales to third parties, presenting the transaction together with revenue recognized under ASC 606 is precluded if the collaborative arrangement participant is not a customer. The Company early adopted ASC 808 which was to be effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2020, and interim periods within fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2021. The Company early adopted ASC 808 during third quarter 2019. The adoption of ASC 808 did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements.

Leases

In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (ASC 842), which establishes a comprehensive new lease accounting model. The new standard will require most leases (with the exception of leases with terms of one year or less) to be recognized on the balance sheet as a lease liability with a corresponding right-of-use asset. Leases will be classified as an operating lease or a financing lease. The classification of the lease will affect the pattern of expense recognition in the income statement such that operating leases are expensed using the straight-line method whereas financing leases will be treated similarly to a capital lease under the current standard. The standard also requires disclosures to help investors and other financial statement users better understand the amount, timing and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. In July 2018, the FASB issued ASU No. 2018-10, "Codification Improvements to Topic 842, Leases" (ASU 2018-10), which provides narrow amendments to clarify how to apply certain aspects of the new lease standard, and ASU No. 2018-11, "Leases (Topic 842)-Targeted Improvements" (ASU 2018-11), which addressed implementation issues related to the new lease standard. These and certain other lease-related ASUs have generally been codified in ASC 842. ASC 842 supersedes the lease accounting requirements in Accounting Standards Codification Topic 840, Leases (ASC 840).

The Company adopted ASC 842 using the modified retrospective transition approach during Q1 2019, which allows the Company to not adjust the comparative periods presented. The Company has elected to adopt the package of transition practical expedients and, therefore, has not reassessed whether existing or expired contracts contain a lease or the lease classification for existing or expired. The Company did not elect the practical expedient to use hindsight for leases existing at the adoption date. Upon adoption, operating leases would be reported on the balance sheet as a gross-up of assets and liabilities, however the Company has elected, as an accounting policy, to not recognize ROU assets and lease liabilities for all short-term leases that have a lease term of 12 months or less. The adoption of ASC 842 did not have an impact on the Company’s financial statements as the Company has no leases with a term of more than 12 months.

New accounting standards which have not yet been adopted on or before December 31, 2019

Fair Value Measurements

In August 2018, the FASB issued ASU 2018-13, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820): Disclosure Framework – Changes to the Disclosure Requirements for Fair Value Measurement. ASU 2018-13 eliminates certain disclosure requirements for fair value measurements for all entities, requires public entities to disclose certain new information and modifies some disclosure requirements. This standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2019, including interim reporting periods within those years, with early adoption permitted. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the standard will have on the financial statements and related footnote disclosures.

Credit Losses

In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326), Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments ("ASU-2016-13"). ASU 2016-13 affects loans, debt securities, trade receivables, and any other financial assets that have the contractual right to receive cash. The ASU requires an entity to recognize expected credit losses rather than incurred losses for financial assets. ASU 2016-13 is effective for the fiscal year beginning after December 15, 2022, including interim periods within that fiscal year. The Company is currently evaluating the impact that the standard will have on the financial statements and related footnote disclosures.

LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS	12 Months Ended
LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS	Dec. 31, 2019
LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS
LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS	NOTE 3 – LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS The Company’s revenues are comprised of amounts earned under its license and collaboration agreements and royalties. Revenue recognition occurs when a customer obtains control of promised services in an amount that reflects the consideration the Company expects to receive in exchange for those services based on a short-term credit arrangement. AD Pharma Agreement covering LTX-03 On June 28, 2019 we entered into with Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC (“AD Pharma”), a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement (the "AD Pharma Agreement"), for the development and license of LTX-03 (hydrocodone bitartrate with acetaminophen) immediate-release tablets utilizing Acura’s patented LIMITx™. Acura will receive a monthly license payment of $350 thousand by AD Pharma for 18 months until November 2020. The first license payment was received July 2, 2019. AD Pharma will pay for and reimburse Acura for all outside development costs on LTX-03. If the NDA filing for LTX-03 is not accepted by the FDA by November 30, 2020, AD Pharma has the option to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement and take ownership of the Limitx intellectual property. Should AD Pharma choose not to exercise this option to terminate and the NDA for LTX-03 is subsequently accepted by the FDA, such option expires. AD Pharma does have the right to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement anytime for “convenience on 30 days prior written notice”. AD Pharma retains commercialization rights from which Acura will receive stepped royalties on sales and potential sales related milestones. We also granted authority to MainPointe Pharmaceuticals, LLC (MainPointe) to assign to AD Pharma the option and the right to add, as an Option Product to the Nexafed® Agreement, a Nexafed® 12-hour dosage (an extended-release pseudoephedrine hydrochloride product utilizing the IMPEDE® Technology in 120mg dosage strength. The Option Product exercise price of $500 thousand is waived if the exercise of the option occurs by June 28, 2024 (five years from the effective date of the AD Pharma Agreement). On June 28, 2019 Mr. John Schutte assigned and transferred to AD Pharma his $6.0 million promissory note, the common stock purchase warrant for 10.0 million common shares, and the security agreement granting a security interest in all of the Company’s assets. (See Note 8). Mr. Schutte is our largest shareholder and directly owns approximately 47.5% of our common stock (after giving effect to the exercise of remaining common stock purchase warrants he holds). Mr. Schutte controls MainPointe and is the principal investor in AD Pharma. Zyla Agreement covering Oxaydo In April 2014, we terminated an agreement with Pfizer which resulted in the return to us of Aversion Oxycodone (formerly known as Oxecta®) and all Aversion product rights in exchange for a one-time termination payment of $2.0 million. Our termination payment of $2.0 million has been recorded in our financial statements as an intangible asset and is being amortized over the remaining useful life of the patent covering Aversion Oxycodone, which was 9.7 years as of the date the Pfizer agreement was terminated. The recoverability of the Aversion intangible asset is contingent upon future Zyla royalty revenues to us. We have recorded amortization expense of $207 thousand in each of the years ended December 31, 2019 and 2018. Annual amortization of the patent for its remaining life is expected to approximate $207 thousand per year. In January 2015, we and Egalet US, Inc. and Egalet Ltd., each a subsidiary of Egalet Corporation (now known as Zyla Life Sciences), or collectively Zyla, entered into a Collaboration and License Agreement (the “Zyla Agreement”) to commercialize Aversion Oxycodone under our tradename Oxaydo. Oxaydo is approved by the FDA for marketing in the United States in 5 mg and 7.5 mg strengths. Under the terms of the Zyla Agreement, we transferred the approved New Drug Application, or NDA, for Oxaydo to Zyla and Zyla is granted an exclusive license under our intellectual property rights for development and commercialization of Oxaydo worldwide (the “Territory”) in all strengths, subject to our right to co-promote Oxaydo in the United States. Eaglet launched Oxaydo in the United States late in the third quarter of 2015. In accordance with the Zyla Agreement Zyla is responsible for the fees and expenses relating to the product line extensions of Oxaydo, provided that Zyla will pay a substantial majority of the fees and expenses and we will pay for the remaining fees and expense relating to (i) annual NDA PDUFA product fees, (ii) expenses of the FDA required post-marketing study for Oxaydo and (iii) expenses of clinical studies for product line extensions (additional strengths) of Oxaydo for the United States. Zyla will bear all of the expenses of development and regulatory approval of Oxaydo for sale outside the United States. Zyla is responsible for all manufacturing and commercialization activities in the Territory for Oxaydo. Subject to certain exceptions, Zyla will have final decision making authority with respect to all development and commercialization activities for Oxaydo, including pricing, subject to our co-promotion right. Zyla may develop Oxaydo for other countries and in additional strengths, in its discretion. Zyla paid us a $5.0 million license fee upon signing of the Zyla Agreement and on October 9, 2015, paid us a $2.5 million milestone in connection with the first commercial sale of Oxaydo. We will be entitled to a one-time $12.5 million sales-based milestone payment when worldwide Oxaydo net sales reach $150 million in a calendar year. We are entitled to receive from Zyla a stepped royalty at percentage rates ranging from mid-single digits to double-digits based on Oxaydo net sales during each calendar year (excluding net sales resulting from our co-promotion efforts). In any calendar year of the agreement in which net sales exceed a specified threshold, we will receive a double digit royalty on all Oxaydo net sales in that year (excluding net sales resulting from our co-promotion efforts). If we exercise our co-promotion rights, we will receive a share of the gross margin attributable to incremental Oxaydo net sales from our co-promotion activities. Zyla’s royalty payment obligations commenced on the first commercial sale of Oxaydo and expire, on a country-by-country basis, upon the expiration of the last to expire valid patent claim covering Oxaydo in such country (or if there are no patent claims in such country, then upon the expiration of the last valid claim in the United States or the date when no valid and enforceable listable patent in the FDA’s Orange Book remains with respect to Oxaydo). Royalties will be reduced upon the entry of generic equivalents, as well as for payments required to be made by Zyla to acquire intellectual property rights to commercialize Oxaydo, with an aggregate minimum floor. The Zyla Agreement expires upon the expiration of Zyla’s royalty payment obligations in all countries. Either party may terminate the Zyla Agreement in its entirety if the other party breaches a payment obligation, or otherwise materially breaches the Zyla Agreement, subject to applicable cure periods, or in the event the other party makes an assignment for the benefit of creditors, files a petition in bankruptcy or otherwise seeks relief under applicable bankruptcy laws. We also may terminate the Zyla Agreement with respect to the U.S. and other countries if Zyla materially breaches its commercialization obligations. Zyla may terminate the Zyla Agreement for convenience on 120 days prior written notice, which termination may not occur prior to the second anniversary of Zyla’s launch of Oxaydo. Termination does not affect a party’s rights accrued prior thereto, but there are no stated payments in connection with termination other than payments of obligations previously accrued. For all terminations (but not expiration), the Zyla Agreement provides for the transition of development and marketing of Oxaydo from Zyla to us, including the conveyance by Zyla to us of the trademarks and all regulatory filings and approvals relating to Oxaydo, and for Zyla’s supply of Oxaydo for a transition period. MainPointe Agreement covering Nexafed Products and assignment thereof to AD Pharma In March 2017, we and MainPointe entered into the MainPointe Agreement, pursuant to which we granted MainPointe an exclusive license to our Impede Technology to commercialize both of our Nexafed and Nexafed Sinus Pressure + Pain product (“Nexafed products”) in the U.S. and Canada. We also conveyed to MainPointe our existing inventory and equipment relating to our Nexafed products. MainPointe is responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities with respect to products covered by the Agreement. On signing the MainPointe Agreement, MainPointe paid us an upfront licensing fee of $2.5 million. The MainPointe Agreement also provides for our receipt of a 7.5% royalty on net sales of the licensed products. The royalty payment for each product will expire on a country-by-country basis when the Impede® patent rights for such country have expired or are no longer valid; provided that if no Impede patent right exists in a country, then the royalty term for that country will be the same as the royalty term for the United States. After the expiration of a royalty term for a country, MainPointe retains a royalty free license to our Impede® Technology for products covered by the Agreement in such country. MainPointe has the option to expand the licensed territory beyond the United States and Canada to the European Union (and the United Kingdom), Japan and South Korea for payments of $1.0 million, $500 thousand and $250 thousand, respectively. In addition, MainPointe has the option to add to the MainPointe Agreement certain additional products, or Option Products, containing PSE and utilizing the Impede Technology for a fee of $500 thousand per product (for all product strengths). Such Option Products include the product candidate Loratadine with pseudoephedrine. If the territory has been expanded prior to the exercise of a product option, the option fee will be increased to $750 thousand per product. If the territory is expanded after the payment of the $500 thousand product option fee, a one-time $250 thousand fee will be due for each product. If a third party is interested in developing or licensing rights to an Option Product, MainPointe must exercise its option for that product or its option rights for such product will terminate. On June 28, 2019, we granted authority to MainPointe to assign to AD Pharma the option and the right to add, as an Option Product to the Nexafed(R) Agreement, a Nexafed(R) 12-hour dosage (an extended-release pseudoephedrine hydrochloride product utilizing the IMPEDE(R) Technology in 120mg dosage strength. The Option Product exercise price of $500 thousand is waived if the exercise of the option occurs by June 28, 2024 (five years from the effective date of the AD Pharma Agreement). The MainPointe Agreement may be terminated by either party for a material breach of the other party, or by Acura if MainPointe challenges certain of its patents. Upon early termination of the MainPointe Agreement, MainPointe’s licenses to the Impede Technology and all products will terminate. Upon termination, at Acura’s request the parties will use commercially reasonable efforts to transition the Nexafed® and Nexafed® Sinus Pressure + Pain products back to Acura. On January 1, 2020, MainPointe assigned to AD Pharma, with Acura's consent, all of its right, title and interest in the MainPointe Agreement between MainPointe and Acura dated March 16, 2017. KemPharm Agreement Covering Certain Opioid Prodrugs In October 2016, we and KemPharm Inc. (”KemPharm”) entered into a worldwide License Agreement (the “KemPharm Agreement”) pursuant to which we licensed our Aversion® Technology to KemPharm for its use in the development and commercialization of three products using 2 of KemPharm’s prodrug candidates. KemPharm has also been granted an option to extend the KemPharm Agreement to cover two additional prodrug candidates. KemPharm is responsible for all development, manufacturing and commercialization activities. Upon execution of the KemPharm Agreement, KemPharm paid us an upfront payment of $3.5 million. If KemPharm exercises its option to use our Aversion Technology with more than the two licensed prodrugs, then KemPharm will pay us up to $1.0 million for each additional prodrug license. In addition, we will receive from KemPharm a low single digit royalty on commercial sales by KemPharm of products developed using our Aversion Technology under the KemPharm Agreement. KemPharm’s royalty payment obligations commence on the first commercial sale of a product using our Aversion Technology and expire, on a country-by-country basis, upon the expiration of the last to expire patent claim of the Aversion Technology covering a product in such country, at which time the license for the particular product and country becomes fully paid and royalty free. The KemPharm Agreement expires upon the expiration of KemPharm’s royalty payment obligations in all countries. Either party may terminate the KemPharm Agreement in its entirety if the other party materially breaches the KemPharm Agreement, subject to applicable cure periods. Acura or KemPharm may terminate the KemPharm Agreement with respect to the U.S. and other countries if the other party challenges the patents covering the licensed products. KemPharm may terminate the KemPharm Agreement for convenience on ninety (90) days prior written notice. Termination does not affect a party’s rights accrued prior thereto, but there are no stated payments in connection with termination other than payments of obligations previously accrued. For all terminations (but not expiration), the KemPharm Agreement provides for termination of our license grant to KemPharm.

DEBT

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

DEBT

DEBT

NOTE 7 – DEBT

Fully Paid Loan

In December 2013, we entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Oxford Loan Agreement”) with Oxford Finance LLC (“Oxford” or the “Lender”), for a term loan to the Company in the principal amount of $10.0 million (the “Term Loan”). The Oxford Term Loan accrued interest at a fixed rate of 8.35% per annum (with a default rate of 13.35% per annum). The Company was required to make monthly interest−only payments until April 1, 2015 (“Amortization Date”) and beginning on the Amortization Date, the Company began to make payments of principal and accrued interest in equal monthly installments of $260 thousand, sufficient to amortize the Term Loan through the maturity date of December 1, 2018. All unpaid principal and accrued and unpaid interest with respect to the Term Loan was due and payable in full on December 1, 2018. As security for its obligations under the initial Oxford Loan Agreement (prior to the Third Amendment), the Company granted the Lender a security interest in substantially all of its existing and after−acquired assets, exclusive of its intellectual property assets. Upon the execution of the Oxford Loan Agreement, we issued to the Lender warrants to purchase an aggregate of up to 60 thousand shares of our common stock at an exercise price equal to $7.98 per share (after adjustment for our one-for-five reverse stock split) (the “Warrants”). We recorded $400 thousand as debt discount associated with the relative fair value of the Warrants and amortized it to interest expense over the term of the loan using the loan’s effective interest rate. The Warrants were immediately exercisable for cash or by net exercise and will expire December 27, 2020.

In January 2015, we and Oxford amended the Oxford Loan Agreement providing for the exercise price of the Warrants to be lowered from $7.98 to $2.52 per share (the average closing price of our common stock on Nasdaq for the 10 trading days preceding the date of the amendment and after giving effect to our one-for-five reverse stock split) and we recorded additional debt discount of $33 thousand representing the fair value of the Warrant modification.

The Company was obligated to pay customary lender fees and expenses, including a one-time facility fee of $50 thousand and the Lender’s expenses, in connection with the Oxford Loan Agreement. Combined with the Company’s own expenses and a $100 thousand consulting placement fee, the Company incurred a total $231 thousand in deferred debt issue costs. We amortized these costs, including debt modification additional costs, into interest expense over the term of the Term Loan using the loan’s effective interest rate of 10.16%.

In October 2018 we borrowed $1.8 million from Mr. Schutte and used loan proceeds to negotiate, settle and pay-off in full the Oxford Loan for $1.5 million. We recognized a net gain from debt settlement of $296 thousand on principal and interest which has been reflected in our statement of operations as non-operating income. All security interests of Oxford with respect to the Oxford Term Loan have been released.

Related Party Convertible Loan

At December 31, 2018, we had borrowed an aggregate of $4.350 million from Mr. Schutte, a related-party. From January 1, 2019 and through June 27, 2019, we borrowed additional amounts from Mr. Schutte for $650 thousand and issued various promissory notes to him with the same terms and conditions from the previous loans (the Schutte Notes). The Schutte Notes bear interest at prime plus 2.0%, and were to mature on January 2, 2020, at which time all principal and interest was to be due. The Schutte Notes were unsecured until all obligations to Oxford were satisfied at which time we were required to grant a security interest to Mr. Schutte in all of our assets, including our intellectual property. Because we believed the Schutte Notes’ rate of interest was below current market rates for us, we imputed interest on the below market rate element of the loans using the 10.16% interest rate under the Oxford Loan Agreement and this has aggregated to $172 thousand as of December 31, 2018. We recorded these benefits to interest income, with a corresponding like amount as debt discount against the principal amount of the loan. The debt discount will be amortized to interest expense over the term on the loans. At December 31, 2018, the unamortized debt discount balance was $126 thousand and the accrued interest balance was $110 thousand. We recorded a $13 thousand benefit to interest income during 2019 from the $650 thousand borrowings from Mr. Schutte. At June 27, 2019, the unamortized debt discount balance was $73 thousand and the accrued interest balance was $275 thousand.

The events of default under the Schutte Notes are limited to bankruptcy defaults and failure to pay interest and principal when due on January 2, 2020. The Schutte Notes could be prepaid at any time in whole or in part.

Included in the $4.350 million loan outstanding from Mr. Schutte as of December 31, 2018 was a borrowing of $1.8 million completed on October 5, 2018 of which we used $1.5 million to fully pay-off the debt outstanding under the Oxford Loan Agreement. All our assets are pledged as collateral under the Schutte Notes, including our intellectual property.

On June 27, 2019 the aggregate amount of the loans made to the Company by Mr. Schutte aggregated $5.0 million. On June 28, 2019 we restructured the $5.0 million loan to borrow an additional $725 thousand from Mr. Schutte, which was received on July 2, 2019, bringing the aggregate principal of the loans and accrued interest to $6.0 million, and consolidated the loans into a single promissory note with a fixed interest rate of 7.5%, maturity date of July 1, 2023, granted principal and interest conversion rights into shares of our common stock at a price of $0.16 per share, issued a warrant for 10.0 million common shares having an exercise price of $0.01 per share, and granted a security interest in all of the Company's assets, which includes our intellectual property. The principal amount of the loan is convertible into 37.5 million shares of our common stock. The loan restructuring was accounted for as debt extinguishment. We obtained a valuation of fair value on the modified loan and warrant and the method of accounting for the loan changes resulted in a $2.6 million loss on debt extinguishment. Of the loss on debt extinguishment, $1.145 million was allocated to the warrant, $1.382 million was related to the premium on the convertible loan, and $73 thousand was assignable to write-off of the original loan's remaining unamortized debt discount. The $6.0 million promissory note, the common stock purchase warrant and the security agreement were all assigned and transferred by Mr. Schutte to AD Pharma on June 28, 2019.

The events of default under the $6.0 million note are limited to bankruptcy defaults, failure to pay interest and principal when due on July 1, 2023 or upon failure to meet certain timelines as defined in the agreement. The $6.0 million note may be prepaid at any time in whole or in part but only with the consent of the noteholder.

Our debt interest expense for the twelve months ended December 31, 2019 and 2018 consisted of the following (in thousands):


	Year Ended
	December 31,
	2019		2018
Interest expense:
Fully paid term loan	$	—	$	194
Related party term loans		392		110
Debt discount		66		74
Debt issue costs		—		13
Financed insurance premiums		4		4
Total interest expense	$	462	$	395
Less: imputed interest income on related party loans		(13)		(172)

Total interest expense, net	$	449	$	223

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

NOTE 8 – RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Private Placement with Mr. John Schutte

In July 2017, we completed a $4.0 million private placement with Mr. Schutte (sometimes referred to as the “Investor”), consisting of 8,912,655 units (“Units”) of the Company, at a price of $0.4488 per Unit (the “Transaction”). Each Unit consists of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase one fifth (0.2) of a share of common stock. The issue price of the Units was equal to 85% of the average last sale price of our common stock for the five trading days prior to completion of the Transaction. The warrants are immediately exercisable for 1,782,532 common shares at a price of $0.528 per share (which equals the average last sale price of the Company’s common stock for the five trading days prior to completion of the Transaction) and expire five years after issuance (subject to earlier expiration in event of certain acquisitions). We have assigned a relative fair value of $495 thousand to the warrants out of the total $4.0 million proceeds from the private placement transaction and have accounted these warrants as equity. The Transaction was completed through a private placement to an accredited investor and was exempt from registration pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and/or Regulation D promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933.

MainPointe Pharmaceuticals LLC

Investor is a principal of MainPointe Pharmaceuticals LLC, a Kentucky limited liability company ("MainPointe"). In March 2017, we granted MainPointe an exclusive license to our Impede Technology to commercialize our Nexafed® and Nexafed® Sinus Pressure + Pain Products in the United States and Canada for an upfront licensing fee of $2.5 million plus approximately $309 thousand for transferred inventory and equipment. The Company is receiving a 7.5% royalty on sales of licensed products. MainPointe also has options to expand the territory and products covered for additional sums. Included in the reported royalty revenue for the years ended 2019 and 2018 is $21 thousand and $24 thousand, respectively, of royalty revenue from MainPointe (See Note 3). On January 1, 2020, MainPointe assigned to AD Pharma, with Acura's consent, all of its right, title and interest in the MainPointe Agreement between MainPointe and Acura.

As part of the closing of the Transaction, the Company and Essex Woodlands Health Ventures V, L.P. (“Essex”) and Galen Partners III, L.P. (“Galen”) amended and restated the existing Voting Agreement including such parties to provide for the Investor to join as a party (as so amended, the “Second Amended and Restated Voting Agreement”). The Second Amended and Restated Voting Agreement provides that our Board of Directors shall remain comprised of no more than seven members (subject to certain exceptions), (i) one of whom is the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, (ii) three of whom are independent under Nasdaq standards, and (iii) one of whom shall be designated by each of Essex, Galen and Investor, and the parties to such agreement would vote for such persons. The right of each of Essex, Galen and Investor to designate one director to our Board will continue as long as he or it and their affiliates collectively hold at least 600,000 shares of our common stock (including warrants exercisable for such shares). Immanuel Thangaraj is the designee of Essex. Investor has not designated a director as of the date of filing of this Report. Galen had not designated a director and lost that right in December 2017 when it disposed of its shares of common stock in the Company. Once such shareholder no longer holds such securities, the additional forfeited seat would become a seat for an independent director to thereafter be nominated to the Board of Directors from time to time by the then current directors and as applicable, to be elected by the directors to fill the vacancy created by the forfeited seat or submitted to the vote of shareholders at the Company’s next annual meeting. An independent director has not been named to fill the seat forfeited by Galen.

Loans with Mr. John Schutte

During the period January 1, 2019 through June 27, 2019 we borrowed an aggregate of $650 thousand from Mr. John Schutte. On June 28, 2019 we borrowed an additional $725 thousand from Mr. Schutte, bringing the aggregate principal of the loans and accrued interest to $6.0 million, and consolidated the loans into a single promissory note with a fixed interest rate of 7.5%, maturity date of July 1, 2023, granted conversion rights of principal and interest into shares of our common stock at a price of $0.16 per share, issued a warrant for 10.0 million common shares having an exercise price of $0.01 per share, and granted a security interest in all of the Company’s assets, which includes our intellectual property. The principal amount of the note is convertible into 37.5 million shares of our common stock. The $6.0 million promissory note, the common stock purchase warrant and the security agreement were all assigned and transferred by Mr. Schutte to AD Pharma on June 28, 2019.

AD Pharma Agreement covering LTX-03

On June 28, 2019, we entered into a License, Development and Commercialization Agreement (the "AD Pharma Agreement") with Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC (“AD Pharma”), a special purpose company representing a consortium of investors that will finance Acura’s operations and completion of development of LTX-03 (hydrocodone bitartrate with acetaminophen) immediate-release tablets utilizing Acura’s patented LIMITx™ technology which addresses the consequences of excess oral administration of opioid tablets, the most prevalent route of opioid overdose and abuse. The AD Pharma Agreement grants AD Pharma exclusive commercialization rights in the United States to LTX-03. Financial arrangements include:

Monthly license payments to Acura by AD Pharma of $350 thousand up to the earlier of 18 months or FDA’s acceptance of a New Drug Application (“NDA”) for LTX-03;

Reimbursement by AP Pharma of Acura’s LTX-03 outside development expenses;

Upon commercialization of LTX-03, Acura receives stepped royalties on sales and is eligible for certain sales related milestones; and

Acura authorizes MainPointe to assign to AD Pharma the option and the right to add, as an Option Product to the Nexafed® Agreement, a Nexafed® 12-hour dosage (an extended-release pseudoephedrine hydrochloride product utilizing the IMPEDE® Technology in 120mg dosage strength).

AD Pharma may terminate the AD Pharma Agreement at any time. Additionally, if the NDA for LTX-03 is not accepted by the FDA by November 30, 2020, AD Pharma has the option to terminate the AD Pharma Agreement and take ownership of the intellectual property. Should AD Pharma choose not to exercise this option to terminate and the NDA for LTX-03 is subsequently accepted by the FDA, such option expires.

We also granted authority to MainPointe Pharmaceuticals, LLC (MainPointe) to assign to AD Pharma the option and the right to add, as an Option Product to the Nexafed® Agreement, a Nexafed® 12-hour dosage (an extended-release pseudoephedrine hydrochloride product utilizing the IMPEDE® Technology in 120mg dosage strength). In March 2017, we granted MainPointe an exclusive license to our IMPEDE ® Technology to commercialize our Nexafed® and Nexafed® Sinus Pressure + Pain Products in the United States and Canada. On January 1, 2020, MainPointe assigned to AD Pharma, with Acura’s consent, all of its right, title and interest in the MainPointe Agreement between MainPointe and Acura dated March 16, 2017.

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

NOTE 11 – SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

Stock Option Plans

We maintain various stock option plans. A summary of our stock option plans as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and for the year then ended consisted of the following (in thousands except exercise price):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018
		Weighted			Weighted
	Number	Average		Number	Average
	of	Exercise		of	Exercise
	Options	Price		Options	Price
Outstanding, Jan. 1	1,560	$	7.38	1,494	$	12.33
Granted	—		—	232		0.15
Exercised	—		—	—		—
Forfeited	(34)		4.09	(3)		0.56
Expired	(170)		30.83	(163)		42.75
Outstanding, Dec. 31	1,356	$	4.45	1,560	$	7.38
Exercisable, Dec. 31	1,356	$	4.45	1,328	$	8.64

The following table summarizes information about unvested stock options outstanding at December 31, 2019 (in thousands except price data):


	Number of	Weighted
	Options Not	Average Fair
	Exercisable	Value
Outstanding at Jan. 1, 2019	232	$	0.10
Granted	—		—
Vested	(223)		0.10
Forfeited	(9)		0.10
Outstanding at Dec. 31, 2019	—	$	—

We estimate the option’s fair value on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model. Black-Scholes utilizes assumptions related to expected term, forfeitures, volatility, the risk-free interest rate, the dividend yield (which is assumed to be zero, as we have not paid any cash dividends) and employee exercise behavior. Expected volatilities utilized in the Black-Scholes model are based on the historical volatility of our common stock price. The risk-free interest rate is derived from the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant. The expected life of the grants is derived from historical exercise activity. Historically, the majority of our stock options have been held until their expiration date.

The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model to determine fair value for the 2018 stock option grants were:


Expected dividend yield		0.0	%
Risk-free interest rates		2.8	%
Average expected volatility		76	%
Expected term (years)		5
Weighted average grant date fair value	$	0.10

There was no intrinsic value contained in the stock option awards which vested and were outstanding at December 31, 2019. The total remaining unrecognized compensation cost on unvested option awards outstanding at December 31, 2019 was approximately $20 thousand, and is expected to be recognized in the Company’s operating expense in varying amounts over the next eleven months remaining in the requisite service period.

Restricted Stock Unit Award Plans

We have two Restricted Stock Unit Award Plans for our employees and non-employee directors, a 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan (the “2017 RSU Plan”) and a 2014 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan (the “2014 RSU Plan”). Vesting of an RSU entitles the holder to receive a share of our common stock on a distribution date. Our non-employee director awards allow for non-employee directors to receive payment in cash, instead of stock, for up to 40% of each RSU award. The portion of the RSU awards subject to cash settlement are recorded as a liability in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as they vest and being marked-to-market each reporting period until they are distributed. The liability was $29 thousand and $11 thousand at December 31, 2019 and 2018, respectively.

The compensation cost to be incurred on a granted RSU without a cash settlement option is the RSU’s fair value, which is the market price of our common stock on the date of grant, less its exercise cost. The compensation cost is amortized to expense and recorded to additional paid-in capital over the vesting period of the RSU award.

A summary of the grants under the RSU Plans as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and for the year then ended consisted of the following (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
		Number of		Number of
	Number	Vested	Number of	Vested
	of RSUs	RSUs	RSUs	RSUs
Outstanding, Jan. 1	951	459	462	262
Granted	333	—	759	—
Distributed	(267)	(267)	(262)	(262)
Vested	—	825	—	459
Forfeited	—	—	(8)	—
Outstanding, Dec. 31	1,017	1,017	951	459

2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan

Our 2017 RSU Plan was approved by shareholders in November 2017 and permits the grant of up to 1.5 million shares of our common stock pursuant to awards under the 2017 RSU Plan. As of December 31, 2019, approximately 219 thousand shares are available for award under the 2017 RSU Plan.

Information about the awards under the 2017 RSU Plan is as follows:

In December 2017, we awarded 200 thousand RSUs to our employees. Such RSU awards will vest 100% after one full year of service. Distributions of the vested RSU awards to the employees will be made in three equal installments on the first business day of each of January 2020, 2021, and 2022 or earlier upon a qualifying change of control.

In January 2018, we awarded approximately 67 thousand RSUs to each of our four non-employee directors which also allow for them to receive payment in cash, instead of stock, for up to 40% of each RSU award. Such awards vest 25% at the end of each calendar quarter in 2018. Settlement of this RSU award will occur on January 2, 2019, the first business day of the year after vesting. The portion of the RSU awards which are subject to cash settlement are also subject to marked-to market accounting having a liability recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet with quarterly adjustments recorded to stock compensation expense in the general and administration operating category of our income statement.

In December 2018, we awarded 488 thousand RSUs to our employees. Such RSU awards will vest 100% after one full year of service. Distributions of the vested RSU awards to the employees will be made in three equal installments on the first business day of each of January 2021, 2022, and 2023 or earlier upon a qualifying change of control.

In January 2019, we awarded approximately 83 thousand RSUs to each of our four non-employee directors which also allow for them to receive payment in cash, instead of stock, for up to 40% of each RSU award. Such awards vest 25% at the end of each calendar quarter in 2019. Settlement of this RSU award occurred on January 2, 2020, the first business day of the year after vesting. The portion of the RSU awards which were subject to cash settlement was also subject to marked-to market accounting having a liability recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet with quarterly adjustments which were recorded to stock compensation expense in the general and administration operating category of our income statement.

In January 2020, we awarded approximately 55 thousand RSUs to each of our four non-employee directors which also allow for them to receive payment in cash, instead of stock, for up to 40% of each RSU award. Such awards vest 25% at the end of each calendar quarter in 2020. Settlement of this RSU award will occur on January 4, 2021, the first business day of the year after vesting. The portion of the RSU awards which are subject to cash settlement will also be subject to marked-to market accounting having a liability recorded on the Company’s consolidated balance sheet with quarterly adjustments recorded to stock compensation expense in the general and administration operating category of our income statement.

Information about the distribution of shares under the 2017 RSU Plan is as follows:

In January 2019, 267 thousand RSUs were distributed to our non-employee directors from their January 2018 award and settled in common stock.

In January 2020, 333 thousand RSUs were distributed to our non-employee directors from their January 2019 award with 296 thousand RSUs settled in common stock, 4 thousand RSUs used to settle the purchase price and 33 thousand RSUs settled in cash.

In January 2020, 61 thousand RSUs were distributed to our employee representing one third of their 2017 award with 51 thousand RSUs settled in common stock and 10 thousand RSUs used to settle the purchase price and employee withholding taxes.

2014 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan

Our 2014 RSU Plan was approved by shareholders in May 2014 and permits the grant of up to 400 thousand shares of our common stock pursuant to awards under the 2014 RSU Plan. As of December 31, 2019, there are no longer shares available for award under the 2014 RSU Plan.

Information about the awards under the 2014 RSU Plan during 2018 and 2019 is as follows:

In January 2017, we awarded approximately 60 thousand RSUs to each of our four non-employee directors which also allow for them to receive payment in cash, instead of stock, for up to 40% of each RSU award. Such awards vest 25% at the end of each calendar quarter in 2017. The portion of the RSU awards which are subject to cash settlement are also subject to marked-to market accounting and the liability recorded in the Company’s consolidated balance sheet as an estimate for such cash settlement was $41 thousand at December 31, 2017. The RSU award was settled on January 2, 2018.

In December 2018, we awarded 4 thousand RSUs to our employees. Such RSU awards will vest 100% after one full year of service. Distributions of the vested RSU awards to the employees will be made in three equal installments on the first business day of each of January 2021, 2022, and 2023 or earlier upon a qualifying change of control.

Information about the distribution of shares under the 2014 RSU Plan is as follows:

In January 2017, 1 thousand RSUs from the May 2014 award and 66 thousand RSUs from the January 2016 award were distributed. There were 1 thousand RSUs from the May 1 2014 award and 22 thousand RSUs from the January 2016 award which remained deferred until a future distribution date, which occurred on January 1, 2018. Of the 67 thousand RSUs distributed, 49 thousand RSUs were settled in common stock and 18 thousand RSUs were settled in cash.

In January 2018, 262 thousand RSUs from the 2014 RSU Plan were distributed. Of the approximately 262 thousand RSUs distributed, 238 thousand RSUs were settled in common stock and 24 thousand RSUs were settled in cash.

INCOME TAXES

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

INCOME TAXES

INCOME TAXES

NOTE 12 – INCOME TAXES

We account for income taxes under the liability method. Under this method, deferred income tax assets and liabilities are determined based on differences between financial reporting and income tax basis of assets and liabilities and are accounted for using the enacted income tax rates and laws that will be in effect when the differences are expected to reverse.

On December 22, 2017, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the “Act”) was signed into law making significant changes to the Internal Revenue Code. Changes include, but are not limited to, a corporate tax rate decrease from 35% to 21% effective for tax years beginning after December 31, 2017 and requiring adjustment to 2017 deferred taxes. The Company has calculated its best estimate of the impact of the Act in its 2017 year-end income tax provision in accordance with its understanding of the Act and guidance available as of that date and as a result had no adjustment to record as an additional income tax expense in the fourth quarter of 2017, the period in which the legislation was enacted.

On December 22, 2017, Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 118 ("SAB 118") was issued to address the application of US GAAP in situations when a registrant does not have the necessary information available, prepared, or analyzed (including computations) in reasonable detail to complete the accounting for certain income tax effects of the Act. In accordance with SAB 118, the Company remeasured its deferred tax assets and liabilities and adjusted its deferred tax balances to reflect the lower enacted U.S. corporate tax rate resulted in an income tax expense of $26.6 million which was included as a discrete item in the 2017 income tax provision. Overall, there was no impact to the 2017 tax provision as a result of the offsetting reduction of the valuation allowance. The period for determination of accounting implications of the 2017 Tax Act closed on December 22, 2018. The Company has completed their analysis and did not have any material true-ups on the positions taken in the 2017 tax provision.

Provision for Income Taxes

The reconciliation between our provision for income taxes and the amounts computed by multiplying our loss before taxes by the U.S. statutory tax rate is as follows (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Benefit at U.S. statutory tax rate	$	(792)	$	(807)
State taxes (benefit), net of federal effect		(138)		(141)
State research and development tax credits		(2)		—
Federal research and development tax credits		(23)		(23)
Share-based compensation		4		22
Other		—		17
Change in valuation allowance		951		932
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	—	$	—

Deferred Tax Assets and Valuation Allowance

Deferred tax assets reflect the tax effects of net operating losses (“NOLs”), tax credit carryovers, and temporary differences between the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities for financial reporting purposes and the amounts used for income tax purposes. The most significant item of our deferred tax assets is derived from our Federal NOLs. We have approximately $167.8 million gross Federal NOLs at December 31, 2019 (of which approximately $160.2 million was generated prior to January 1, 2018). Because we believe the ability for us to use these NOLs generated prior to January 1, 2018 to offset any future taxable income is severely limited as prescribed under Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section 382, we had estimated and recorded an amount for the likely limitation to our deferred tax asset in the fourth quarter of 2017, thereby reducing the aggregate estimated benefit of the Federal NOLs available to us of approximately $1.0 million at December 31, 2017. We believe the gross Federal NOL benefit we generated prior to January 1, 2018 to offset taxable income is less than $150 thousand annually. As prescribed under Internal Revenue Code, any unused Federal NOL benefit from the annual limitation can be accumulated and carried forward to the subsequent year and will expire if not used in accordance with the NOL carried forward term of 20 years or 2037, if generated before 2018 and Federal NOLs generated after 2017 can be carried forward indefinitely.Future common stock transactions, such as the exercise of common stock purchase warrants or the conversion of debt into common stock, may cause another qualifying event under IRC 382 which may further limit our utilization of our NOLs.

The components of our deferred tax assets are as follows (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Deferred tax assets:
Estimated future value of NOLs
- Federal	$	2,622	$	2,174
- State		869		862
Research and development tax credits
- Federal		1,207		1,184
- State		8		—
Share-based compensation		72		71
Other, net		177		151
Total deferred taxes		4,955		4,442
Valuation allowance		(4,955)		(4,442)
Net deferred tax assets	$	—	$	—

The realization of deferred income tax assets is dependent upon future earnings, if any, and the timing and amount of which may be uncertain. A valuation allowance is required against deferred income tax assets if, based on the weight of available evidence, it is more likely than not that some or all of the deferred income tax assets may not be realized. At both December 31, 2019 and 2018, all our remaining net deferred income tax assets were offset by a valuation allowance due to uncertainties with respect to future utilization of NOL carryforwards. If in the future it is determined that additional amounts of our deferred income tax assets would likely be realized, the valuation allowance would be reduced in the period in which such determination is made and an additional benefit from income taxes in such period would be recognized.

Uncertainty in Income Taxes

We follow FASB’s statement regarding accounting for uncertainty in income taxes which defined the threshold for recognizing the benefits of tax-return positions in the consolidated financial statements as "more-likely-than-not" to be sustained by the taxing authorities. At each of December 31, 2019 and 2018, we had no liability for income tax associated with uncertain tax positions. If in the future we establish a contingent tax liability reserve related to uncertain tax positions, our practice will be to recognize the interest in interest expense and the penalties in other non-operating expense.

The Company files federal and state income tax returns and in the normal course of business the Company is subject to examination by these taxing authorities. As of December 31, 2019, the Company’s tax years of 2016, 2017 and 2018 are subject to examination by the taxing authorities. With few exceptions, we believe the Company is no longer subject to U.S. Federal, State and local examinations by taxing authorities for years before 2016.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of Accounting

Use of Estimates

Concentration of Credit Risk

Fair Value Measurements

Share-based Compensation Expense

We have several share-based compensation plans covering stock options and RSUs for our employees and directors, which are described more fully in Note 11.


	Year Ended
	December 31,
	2019		2018
Research and development expense:
Stock option awards	$	8	$	38
RSU awards		13		27
	$	21	$	65

General and administrative expense:
Stock option awards		12		61
RSU awards		105		104
	$	117	$	165

Total share-based compensation expense	$	138	$	230

Property, Plant and Equipment

Depreciation expense is recorded on a straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the related assets. The estimated useful lives of the major classification of depreciable assets are:


Building and improvements		10 - 40 years
Land and improvements		20 - 40 years
Machinery and equipment		7 - 10 years
Scientific equipment		5 - 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 - 10 years

Intangible and Long-Lived Assets

License Fee Revenue

Collaboration Revenue

Royalty Revenue

Deferred Debt Issuance Costs and Debt Discount

Research and Development Activities

Income Taxes

Basic and Diluted Net Income (Loss) per Share

Customer Concentration

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

New accounting standards which have been adopted on or before December 31, 2019

Collaborative Arrangements

Leases

New accounting standards which have not yet been adopted on or before December 31, 2019

Fair Value Measurements

Credit Losses

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Schedule of Non-Cash Share-Based Compensation Expense


	Year Ended
	December 31,
	2019		2018
Research and development expense:
Stock option awards	$	8	$	38
RSU awards		13		27
	$	21	$	65

General and administrative expense:
Stock option awards		12		61
RSU awards		105		104
	$	117	$	165

Total share-based compensation expense	$	138	$	230

Schedule of Estimated Lives of Major Classification of Depreciable Assets

The estimated useful lives of the major classification of depreciable assets are:


Building and improvements		10 - 40 years
Land and improvements		20 - 40 years
Machinery and equipment		7 - 10 years
Scientific equipment		5 - 10 years
Computer hardware and software		3 - 10 years

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE

Schedule of share-based compensation, stock option plan activity

A summary of our stock option plans as of December 31, 2019 and 2018 and for the year then ended consisted of the following (in thousands except exercise price):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019			2018
		Weighted			Weighted
	Number	Average		Number	Average
	of	Exercise		of	Exercise
	Options	Price		Options	Price
Outstanding, Jan. 1	1,560	$	7.38	1,494	$	12.33
Granted	—		—	232		0.15
Exercised	—		—	—		—
Forfeited	(34)		4.09	(3)		0.56
Expired	(170)		30.83	(163)		42.75
Outstanding, Dec. 31	1,356	$	4.45	1,560	$	7.38
Exercisable, Dec. 31	1,356	$	4.45	1,328	$	8.64

Schedule of unvested stock options outstanding

The following table summarizes information about unvested stock options outstanding at December 31, 2019 (in thousands except price data):


	Number of	Weighted
	Options Not	Average Fair
	Exercisable	Value
Outstanding at Jan. 1, 2019	232	$	0.10
Granted	—		—
Vested	(223)		0.10
Forfeited	(9)		0.10
Outstanding at Dec. 31, 2019	—	$	—

Schedule of back-scholes model to determine fair value of stock option

The assumptions used in the Black-Scholes model to determine fair value for the 2018 stock option grants were:


Expected dividend yield		0.0	%
Risk-free interest rates		2.8	%
Average expected volatility		76	%
Expected term (years)		5
Weighted average grant date fair value	$	0.10

Schedule of grants under the RSU Plans

A summary of the grants under the RSU Plans as of December 31, 2019 and 2018, and for the year then ended consisted of the following (in thousands):


	Year Ended December 31,
	2019		2018
		Number of		Number of
	Number	Vested	Number of	Vested
	of RSUs	RSUs	RSUs	RSUs
Outstanding, Jan. 1	951	459	462	262
Granted	333	—	759	—
Distributed	(267)	(267)	(262)	(262)
Vested	—	825	—	459
Forfeited	—	—	(8)	—
Outstanding, Dec. 31	1,017	1,017	951	459

INCOME TAXES (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2019

INCOME TAXES

Schedule of Provision for Income Taxes

The reconciliation between our provision for income taxes and the amounts computed by multiplying our loss before taxes by the U.S. statutory tax rate is as follows (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Benefit at U.S. statutory tax rate	$	(792)	$	(807)
State taxes (benefit), net of federal effect		(138)		(141)
State research and development tax credits		(2)		—
Federal research and development tax credits		(23)		(23)
Share-based compensation		4		22
Other		—		17
Change in valuation allowance		951		932
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$	—	$	—

Schedule of Components Of Deferred Tax Assets

The components of our deferred tax assets are as follows (in thousands):


	December 31,
	2019		2018
Deferred tax assets:
Estimated future value of NOLs
- Federal	$	2,622	$	2,174
- State		869		862
Research and development tax credits
- Federal		1,207		1,184
- State		8		—
Share-based compensation		72		71
Other, net		177		151
Total deferred taxes		4,955		4,442
Valuation allowance		(4,955)		(4,442)
Net deferred tax assets	$	—	$	—

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands, shares in Millions				1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2019	Jun. 27, 2019	Mar. 16, 2017	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 28, 2019	Oct. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Asset Impairment Charges							$ 0	$ 0
Other Sale Revenues Net							185	0
Revenue From Royalty							372	410
Revenue From License Fee							2,100	0
Amortization of Financing Costs and Discounts, Total							66	87
Related party loan	$ 5,000				$ 5,000
Long-term debt borrowings		$ 650						1,800
Gain on extinguishment of loan maturing December 1, 2018	2,600				2,600	$ 296	(2,600)	296
AD Pharma Agreement
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Proceeds from License Fees Received	$ 350			$ 350
Revenue From License Fee							2,100
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months			18 months
Non-cancelable Arrangements amount, Development and Scale							502
MainPointe (Nexafed)
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Licensing Agreement, Royalty Percentage			7.50%
Royalty Revenue, Payment Method, Description			Such royalty shall be payable for sales made during each calendar quarter and payment will be remitted within forty-five (45) days after the end of the quarter to which it relates.
Revenue From Royalty							$ 21	$ 24
Schutte Note [Member]
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued							10.0
Share Price							$ 0.01
Long-term debt borrowings	$ 725					$ 1,800
Aggregate principal of promissory notes and accrued interest	6,000				$ 6,000		$ 6,000
Fair value of borrowings							$ 7,400
Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC \| AD Pharma Agreement
Financing Receivable, Impaired [Line Items]
Proceeds from License Fees Received	$ 350
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months						5 years

LICENSE AND COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands, shares in Millions				1 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2019	Jun. 27, 2019	Oct. 09, 2015	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2017	Oct. 31, 2016	Apr. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Revenue From Royalty								$ 372	$ 410
Amortization of Intangible Assets								$ 207	207
Patents [Member]
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Payment for Termination							$ 2,000
AD Pharma Agreement
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable	$ 350			$ 350
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months			18 months
Schutte \| AD Pharma Agreement
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Percentage of common stock held	47.50%
Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC \| AD Pharma Agreement
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable	$ 350
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months							5 years
Waiver of exercise price if exercise of option occurs by certain date	$ 500
MainPointe Pharmaceuticals, LLC \| AD Pharma Agreement
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Waiver of exercise price if exercise of option occurs by certain date	$ 500
Period from effective date for exercise of option	5 years
Schutte
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued	10.0	10.0
Schutte \| AD Pharma Agreement
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Aggregate principal of promissory notes and accrued interest	$ 6,000
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued	10.0
Zyla
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Payment for Termination							$ 2,000
Minimum Net Sales Reaching Description								one-time $12.5 million sales-based milestone payment when worldwide Oxaydo net sales reach $150 million in a calendar year.
Agreement Termination Notice Description								Zyla may terminate the Zyla Agreement for convenience on 120 days prior written notice, which termination may not occur prior to the second anniversary of Zyla's launch of Oxaydo. Termination does not affect a party's rights accrued prior thereto, but there are no stated payments in connection with termination other than payments of obligations previously accrued. For all terminations (but not expiration), the Zyla Agreement provides for the transition of development and marketing of Oxaydo from Zyla to us, including the conveyance by Zyla to us of the trademarks and all regulatory filings and approvals relating to Oxaydo, and for Zyla's supply of Oxaydo for a transition period
Proceeds from Milestone Payment On Agreement			$ 2,500
Monthly license payment receivable			$ 5,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Asset, Useful Life							9 years 8 months 12 days
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets, Amortization Expense, Year Two								$ 207
Amortization of Intangible Assets								$ 207	$ 207
MainPointe (Nexafed)
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable					$ 2,500
Licensing Agreement, Royalty Percentage					7.50%
License Agreement Option Products Description					In addition, MainPointe has the option to add to the MainPointe Agreement certain additional products, or Option Products, containing PSE and utilizing the Impede Technology for a fee of $500 thousand per product (for all product strengths). Such Option Products include the product candidate Loratadine with pseudoephedrine. If the territory has been expanded prior to the exercise of a product option, the option fee will be increased to $750 thousand per product. If the territory is expanded after the payment of the $500 thousand product option fee, a one-time $250 thousand fee will be due for each product. If a third party is interested in developing or licensing rights to an Option Product, MainPointe must exercise its option for that product or its option rights for such product will terminate.
MainPointe (Nexafed) \| UNITED KINGDOM
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable					$ 1,000
MainPointe (Nexafed) \| JAPAN
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable					500
MainPointe (Nexafed) \| South Korea [Member]
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable					$ 250
Kempharm Agreement [Member]
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Monthly license payment receivable						$ 3,500
Kempharm Agreement [Member] \| Minimum
License Development and Commercialization Agreement [Line Items]
Additional Upfront Payment Receivable						$ 1,000

DEBT - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands			1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2019	Jun. 27, 2019	Jun. 28, 2019	Oct. 31, 2018	Jan. 31, 2015	Jun. 27, 2019	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 13, 2013
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument principal amount										$ 10,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt		$ 650						$ 1,800
Write-off of unamortized debt discount			$ 73					172
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage										13.35%
Debt instrument, fee amount							$ 50
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt	$ 2,600		$ 2,600	$ 296			(2,600)	296
Debt consulting placement fee							100
Deferred debt issue costs								13
Debt instrument unamortized discount		73				$ 73
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01		$ 0.01
Repayments of Debt								2,573
Additions To Debt Instrument Unamortized Discount								$ 126
Debt Instrument, Periodic Payment							$ 260
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage							10.16%	10.16%
Related party loans made to Company	$ 5,000		$ 5,000
Debt Instrument, Description of Variable Rate Basis								at prime plus 2.0%
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date								Jan. 02, 2020
Debt Instrument, Increase, Accrued Interest		275						$ 110
Benefit to interest income							$ 13
Schutte
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument principal amount		$ 5,000				5,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt	725					$ 650
Amount allocated to warrant	1,145
Premium on convertible loan	1,382		$ 1,382
Write-off of unamortized debt discount	$ 73
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage	7.50%	7.50%	7.50%			7.50%
Gain (Loss) on Extinguishment of Debt	$ 2,600
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01	$ 0.01	$ 0.01			$ 0.01
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Shares Issued	37,500	37,500
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued	10,000	10,000
Share Price	$ 0.16	$ 0.16	$ 0.16			$ 0.16
Term Loan [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Deferred debt issue costs							231
Schutte Note [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument principal amount								$ 4,350
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt	$ 725			1,800
Aggregate principal of promissory notes and accrued interest	$ 6,000		$ 6,000				$ 6,000
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued							10,000
Share Price							$ 0.01
Debt Instrument, Maturity Date								Jan. 02, 2020
Loan Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument, interest rate, stated percentage									8.35%
Oxford Term Loan Agreement [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument principal amount								$ 172
Repayments of Debt				$ 1,500
Maximum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights					$ 7.98
Minimum
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights					$ 2.52
Common stock purchase warrants
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Debt instrument unamortized discount							$ 400
Warrants to purchase common stock							60
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights							$ 2.52
Warrants, expiry date							December 27, 2020
Additions To Debt Instrument Unamortized Discount					$ 33

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands			1 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2019	Jun. 27, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Jul. 31, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Jun. 27, 2019	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 13, 2013
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Fixed interest rate									13.35%
Number Of Common Stock Need To Hold To Designate As Director				600,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt		$ 650						$ 1,800
Class Of Warrants Or Rights, Expiry Period				5 years
Royalty Receivable							$ 82	137
AD Pharma Agreement
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Proceeds from License Fees Received	$ 350		$ 350
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months		18 months
MainPointe (Nexafed)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Proceeds from License Fees Received					$ 2,500
Asset Transferred, License Agreement					$ 309
Licensing Agreement, Royalty Percentage					7.50%
Royalty Receivable							21	$ 24
Investor [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights				$ 0.528
Investor [Member] \| Private Placement [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sale of Stock, Consideration Received on Transaction				$ 4,000
Sale of Stock, Number of Shares Issued in Transaction				8,912,655
Sale of Stock, Price Per Share				$ 0.4488
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights				$ 0.528
Sale Of Stock, Issue Price Description				85%
Warrants Not Settleable in Cash, Fair Value Disclosure							$ 495
Schutte
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Fixed interest rate	7.50%	7.50%				7.50%
Share Price	$ 0.16	$ 0.16				$ 0.16
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued	10,000,000	10,000,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01	$ 0.01				$ 0.01
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Shares Issued	37,500,000	37,500,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt	$ 725					$ 650
Schutte \| AD Pharma Agreement
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Aggregate principal of promissory notes and accrued interest	$ 6,000
Debt Conversion, Converted Instrument, Warrants or Options Issued	10,000,000
Abuse Deterrent Pharma, LLC \| AD Pharma Agreement
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Proceeds from License Fees Received	$ 350
Period until which monthly license payment is receivable	18 months						5 years

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANTS - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 28, 2019	Jul. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2019	Jun. 27, 2019	Dec. 31, 2013
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrant to purchase shares of common stock	10,000,000
Warrants expiration term	5 years
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01
Secured Debt					$ 10,000
Class Of Warrant Or Right Term			5 years
Stock Issued During Period, Value, New Issues		$ 4,000
Investor [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrant to purchase shares of common stock		1,782,531
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights		$ 0.528
Investor [Member] \| Private Placement [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrant to purchase shares of common stock		1,782,532
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights		$ 0.528
Schutte
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Amount allocated to warrant	$ 1,145
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights	$ 0.01			$ 0.01
Common stock purchase warrants
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Common stock warrant exercisable outstanding, shares			60,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights			$ 2.52
Common stock purchase warrants \| Private Placement [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Stock Issued During Period, Value, New Issues		$ 495

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE - Stock Option plan activity (Details) - Stock Option Plan [Member] - $ / shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Share based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Options Outstanding, beginning	1,560	1,494
Number of Options, Granted		232
Number of Options, Exercised		0
Number of Options, Forfeited	(34)	(3)
Number of Options, Expired	170	163
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Expired	$ 30.83	$ 42.75
Number of Options Outstanding, ending	1,356	1,560
Number of Options exercisable	1,356	1,328
Weighted Average Exercise Price, beginning	$ 7.38	$ 12.33
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Granted		0.15
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised		0.00
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Forfeited	4.09	0.56
Weighted Average Exercise Price, ending	4.45	7.38
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Options exercisable	$ 4.45	$ 8.64

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE- Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) shares in Thousands	1 Months Ended							12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2020	Jan. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Jan. 31, 2017	May 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Nov. 30, 2017
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Aggregate intrinsic value of the option awards vested								$ 0
Unrecognized compensation cost on unvested option awards outstanding								20,000
Share Based Compensation Arrangement Share Based Payment Shares Reserved For Future Distribution							1
Allocated Share-based Compensation Expense								$ 138,000	$ 230,000
Subsequent Event [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	55
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant								219
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Gross						60
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Rights, Percentage		25.00%	100.00%	25.00%	100.00%	25.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Description		stock, for up to 40%		stock, for up to 40%		stock, for up to 40%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized										1,500
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period		83	488	67	200
Stock Issued During Period Shares Stock Options Exercised Net Of Shares For Tax Withholdings				262
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Settled In Cash [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period						18
Stock Issued During Period Shares Stock Options Exercised Net Of Shares For Tax Withholdings				24
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Distributed In Common Stock [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period						67
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| January 4, 2016 Award Distributed [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement Share Based Payment Shares Reserved For Future Distribution						66
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Convertible Common Stock [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period						49
Stock Issued During Period Shares Stock Options Exercised Net Of Shares For Tax Withholdings				238
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Four Non Employee Directors [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Gross						22
Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Recorded Liability					$ 41,000
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Rights, Percentage	25.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Description	stock, for up to 40%
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Employees [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share Based Compensation Arrangement Share Based Payment Shares Reserved For Future Distribution	61
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Employees [Member] \| Distributed And Settled In Common Stock [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	51
2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Employees [Member] \| Settlement For Purchase Price [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	10
2014 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant							400
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period			4
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Shares Purchased for Award								0
Non-employee director \| Restricted stock units
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share Based Compensation, Non Employee Services Transaction, Cash Settlement, Percentage								40.00%
Deferred Compensation Arrangement with Individual, Recorded Liability			$ 11,000					$ 29,000	$ 11,000
Non-employee director \| 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Distributed And Settled In Common Stock [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period		267
Non-employee director \| 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	333
Non-employee director \| 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Settled In Cash [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	33
Non-employee director \| 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Distributed And Settled In Common Stock [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	296
Non-employee director \| 2017 Restricted Stock Unit Award Plan \| Subsequent Event [Member] \| Settlement For Purchase Price [Member]
Employee Benefit Plans Disclosure [Line Items]
Share-Based Compensation Arrangement By Share-Based Payment Award, Equity Instruments Other Than Options, Grants In Period	4

INCOME TAXES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
INCOME TAXES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
INCOME TAXES
Benefit at U.S. statutory tax rate	$ (792)	$ (807)
State taxes (benefit), net of federal effect	(138)	(141)
State research and development tax credits	(2)	0
Federal research and development tax credits	(23)	(23)
Share-based compensation	4	22
Other	0	17
Change in valuation allowance	951	932
(Benefit) provision for income taxes	$ 0	$ 0	$ 26,600

NET INCOME (LOSS) PER SHARE (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Earnings (loss) per share - basic and diluted
Numerator: net loss	$ (3,774)	$ (3,842)
Denominator (weighted):
Common shares	21,300	21,033
RSUs - vested	296	113
Common stock purchase warrant	5,124
Basic and diluted weighted average shares outstanding	26,720	21,146
Earnings (loss) per share - basic and diluted	$ (0.14)	$ (0.18)
Common shares issuable:
Total excluded common shares	40,698	3,884
Restricted stock units
Common shares issuable:
Total excluded common shares		482
Stock options
Common shares issuable:
Total excluded common shares	1,356	1,560
Common stock purchase warrants
Common shares issuable:
Total excluded common shares	1,842	1,842
Convertible loan
Common shares issuable:
Total excluded common shares	37,500

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN	12 Months Ended
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN	Dec. 31, 2019
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN
EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN	NOTE 9 – EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN We have a 401(k) and Profit-Sharing Plan (the “Plan”) for our employees. Employees may elect to make a basic contribution of up to 80% of their annual earnings subject to certain regulatory restrictions on their total contribution. The Plan provides that the Company can make discretionary matching contributions along with a discretionary profit-sharing contribution. We did not contribute a matching contribution or a profit sharing contribution to the Plan during the years 2019 or 2018.

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	12 Months Ended
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	Dec. 31, 2019
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES	NOTE 14 – COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Reglan®/Metoclopramide Litigation Halsey Drug Company, as predecessor to us, was named along with numerous other companies as a defendant in cases filed in three separate state coordinated litigations pending in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and California, respectively captioned In re: Reglan®/Metoclopramide Mass Tort Litigation, Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas, January Term, 2010, No. 01997; In re: Reglan Litigation, Superior Court of New Jersey, Law Division, Atlantic County, Case No. 289, Master Docket No. ATL-L-3865-10; and Reglan/Metoclopramide Cases, Superior Court of California, San Francisco County, Judicial Council Coordination Proceeding No. 4631, Superior Court No.: CJC-10-004631. In addition, we were served with a similar complaint by two individual plaintiffs in Nebraska federal court, which plaintiffs voluntarily dismissed in December 2014. In this product liability litigation against numerous pharmaceutical product manufacturers and distributors, including Acura, plaintiffs claim injuries from their use of the Reglan brand of metoclopramide and generic metoclopramide. None of the plaintiffs in the lawsuits filed to date have confirmed that they ingested any of the generic metoclopramide manufactured by us. We discontinued manufacture and distribution of generic metoclopramide more than 20 years ago. All of these lawsuits have been effectively dismissed with the exception of less than ten pending Philadelphia cases that we expect will be finally dismissed without the need for any action by us. We expect that the Court will finally dismiss the small number of remaining Pennsylvania-based cases against us with prejudice by the end of the first quarter of 2020. Legal fees related to this matter have been covered by our insurance carrier. Based upon the current status and evaluation, we have not accrued for any potential loss related to these matters as of December 31, 2019. Facility Lease The Company leases administrative office space in Palatine, Illinois on a month to month basis at the rate of approximately $2 thousand per month.

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS	12 Months Ended
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS	Dec. 31, 2019
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
SUBSEQUENT EVENTS	NOTE 15 – SUBSEQUENT EVENTS On January 30, 2020, the World Health Organization (“WHO”) announced a global health emergency because of a new strain of coronavirus originating in Wuhan, China (the “COVID-19 outbreak”) and the risks to the international community as the virus spreads globally beyond its point of origin. In March 2020, the WHO classified the COVID-19 outbreak as a pandemic (“coronavirus pandemic”), based on the rapid increase in exposure globally.The coronavirus pandemic is affecting the United States and global economies. If the outbreak continues to spread, it may affect the Company’s operations and those of third parties on which the Company relies, including causing disruptions in the supply of the Company’s product candidates and the conduct of current and planned preclinical and clinical studies and contract manufacturing operations. We may need to limit operations or implement limitations, and may experience limitations in employee resources. There are risks that it may be more difficult to contain if the outbreak reaches a larger population or broader geography, in which case the risks described herein could be elevated significantly. The extent to which the coronavirus impacts our results will depend on future developments, which are highly uncertain and cannot be predicted, including new information which may emerge concerning the severity of the coronavirus and the actions to contain the coronavirus or treat its impact, among others. Additionally, while the potential economic impact brought by, and the duration of, the coronavirus pandemic is difficult to assess or predict, the impact of the coronavirus on the global financial markets may reduce the Company’s ability to access capital, which could negatively impact the Company’s short-term and long-term liquidity and the Company’s ability to complete its preclinical studies on a timely basis, or at all. The ultimate impact of coronavirus is highly uncertain and subject to change. The Company does not yet know the full extent of potential delays or impacts on its business, financing , preclinical and clinical trial activities contract manufacturing operations or the global economy as a whole. However, these effects could have a material, adverse impact on the Company’s liquidity, capital resources, operations and business and those of the third parties on which we rely.

SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES - Estimated Useful Lives of the Major Classification of Depreciable Assets (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019
Building and Improvements [Member] \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	40 years
Building and Improvements [Member] \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	10 years
Land and Improvements [Member] \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	40 years
Land and Improvements [Member] \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	20 years
Machinery and Equipment [Member] \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	10 years
Machinery and Equipment [Member] \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	7 years
Scientific Equipment [Member] \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	10 years
Scientific Equipment [Member] \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	5 years
Computer Hardware and Software [Member] \| Maximum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	10 years
Computer Hardware and Software [Member] \| Minimum
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	3 years

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	$ 2,509	$ 2,512
Less: accumulated depreciation	(1,969)	(1,906)
Total property, plant and equipment, net	540	606
Building and Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	1,273	1,273
Scientific Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	597	598
Computer Hardware and Software [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	106	107
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	274	275
Land and Improvements [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	162	162
Other Personal Property [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	70	70
Office Equipment [Member]
Property, Plant and Equipment [Line Items]
Total	$ 27	$ 27

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS
Intangible asset, net of accumulated amortization	$ 1,190	$ 983
Common stock, par value	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	100,000	100,000
Common stock, shares issued	21,300	21,034
Common stock, shares outstanding	21,300	21,034

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS (Parenthetical) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Imputed interest on the below market rate recorded as benefit to interest income		$ 4,350
(Loss) gain on debt extinguishment (Note 7)	$ (2,600)	296
Common stock purchase warrant issued to the related party lender	1,145
Excess fair value premium on the newly issued convertible debt	1,382
Write-off of unamortized debt discount		172
Accrued interest due on the related party loan rolled into principal under modifications	229	110
Proceeds from related party loan receivable	1,375	$ 4,350
Interest Rate Below Market Reduction [Member]
Related party loans made to Company	650
Imputed interest on the below market rate recorded as benefit to interest income	$ 13

REVENUE FROM CONTRACTS WITH CUSTOMER (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Royalty revenues	$ 372	$ 410
Zyla (Oxaydo)
Royalty revenues	351	386
MainPointe (Nexafed)
Royalty revenues	$ 21	$ 24

PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT - Additional Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
PROPERTY, PLANT AND EQUIPMENT
Depreciation	$ 66	$ 73

ACCRUED EXPENSES (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
ACCRUED EXPENSES
Cost sharing expenses under license agreements	$ 363	$ 237
Other fees and services	15	36
Payroll, payroll taxes and benefits	13	6
Professional services	151	132
Financed premiums on insurance policies	0	102
Clinical, non-clinical and regulatory services	20	63
Property taxes	9	7
Franchise taxes	14	13
Total	$ 585	$ 596

DEBT - Interest Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
DEBT - Interest Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
DEBT
Fully paid term loan		$ 194
Related party term loans	$ 392	110
Debt discount	66	74
Debt issue costs		13
Financed insurance premiums	4	4
Total interest expense	462	395
Less: imputed interest income on related party loans	(13)	(172)
Total interest expense, net	$ 449	$ 223

EMPLOYEE BENEFIT PLAN - Additional Information (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019
Four Zero One K and Profit Sharing Plan [Member]
Maximum Basic Contribution Percentage Per Employee On Annual Earnings	80.00%

COMMON STOCK PURCHASE WARRANTS - Warrant Activity (Details) - Common stock purchase warrants - $ / shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Number of Options
Number of Options Outstanding, beginning	1,842	1,842
Number of Options, Issued	10,000	0
Number of Options, Exercised	0	0
Number of Options, Expired	0	0
Number of Options, Modification	0	0
Number of Options Outstanding, ending	11,842	1,842
Weighted Average Exercise Price
Weighted Average Exercise Price, beginning	$ 0.59	$ 0.59
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Issued	0.01	0.00
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised	0.00	0.00
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Expired	0.00	0.00
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Modification	0.00	0.00
Weighted Average Exercise Price, ending	$ 0.10	$ 0.59

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE - Summary of Information about Non Vested Stock Options (Details) - Non Vested Stock Options [Member] shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019 $ / shares shares
Summary Of Information About Non Vested Stock Options Disclosure [Line Items]
Outstanding, beginning \| shares	232
Vested \| shares	(223)
Forfeited \| shares	(9)
Outstanding, ending \| shares
Outstanding beginning, Weighted Average Fair Value \| $ / shares	$ 0.10
Vested, Weighted Average Fair Value \| $ / shares	0.10
Forfeited, Weighted Average Fair Value \| $ / shares	$ 0.10
Outstanding ending, Weighted Average Fair Value \| $ / shares

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE - Assumptions Used in Black-Scholes Model to Determine Fair Value for Stock Option Awards Granted (Details) - Stock Option [Member]	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 $ / shares
Share based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expected dividend yield	0.00%
Risk-free interest rates	2.80%
Average expected volatility	76.00%
Expected term (years)	5 years
Weighted average grant date fair value	$ 0.10

SHARE-BASED COMPENSATION EXPENSE - Summary of RSU Plan (Details) - shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Restricted Stock Units [Member]
Share based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Outstanding, beginning	951	462
Granted	333	759
Distributed	(267)	(262)
Forfeited or expired		(8)
Outstanding, ending	1,017	951
Vested Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) [Member]
Share based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Outstanding, beginning	459	262
Distributed	(267)	(262)
Vested	825	459
Outstanding, ending	1,017	459

INCOME TAXES - Components of Our Deferred Tax Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Estimated future value of NOLs
- Federal	$ 2,622	$ 2,174
- State	869	862
Research and development tax credits
- Federal	1,207	1,184
- State	8	0
Share-based compensation	72	71
Other, net	177	151
Total deferred taxes	4,955	4,442
Valuation allowance	(4,955)	(4,442)
Net deferred tax assets	$ 0	$ 0

COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2019 USD ($)
Palatine Illinois
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Line Items]
Litigation Settlement, Expense	$ 2