▪ looking forward : we expect to report topline results from the alpine 2/3 trial in the second quarter of 2021. in the alpine 4 trial , we are continuing enrollment , with a goal of enrolling approximately 160 patients across 70 sites in the united states , europe , hong kong and australia . we are leveraging the results of cohort 4 of our phase 2 clinical trial , as well as guidance from the u.s. food and drug administration , or fda , to inform early phase 3 planning and design . we expect that the alpine 2/3 trial results will 109 provide further information to support our design of a pivotal clinical trial program to enable a potential biologics license application , or bla , submission . o mk-3655 ( formerly ngm313 ) . mk-3655 is an agonistic antibody discovered by us that selectively activates fibroblast growth factor receptor 1c-beta-klotho , or fgfr1c/klb , which regulates insulin sensitivity , blood glucose and liver fat and is administered every four weeks through a subcutaneous injection . mk-3655 is in phase 2b development for the treatment of nash and was optioned by merck sharp & dohme corp. , or merck , under our collaboration with merck described below . in 2020 , merck : ▪ initiated a worldwide phase 2b trial of mk-3655 in patients with nash with f2 or f3 liver fibrosis in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is currently enrolling patients in that trial . retinal diseases . o ngm621 . ngm621 is a humanized immunoglobulin 1 , or igg1 , monoclonal antibody administered via intravitreal , or ivt , injection . ngm621 was engineered to potently inhibit the activity of complement c3 with the treatment goal of reducing disease progression in patients with geographic atrophy , or ga. merck has a one-time option to license ngm621 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed a phase 1 clinical trial of ngm621 testing the safety and tolerability of single and multiple ivt injections in patients with ga and , at the american academy of ophthalmology 2020 virtual meeting in november 2020 , presented safety and pharmacokinetics , or pk , data from the phase 1 trial demonstrating that ngm621 was well tolerated , with no patients experiencing serious adverse events , or saes , drug-related adverse events , or aes , intraocular inflammation , endophthalmitis or choroidal neovascularization . no dose-related safety patterns or concerns were identified . ▪ in july 2020 , initiated the catalina phase 2 clinical trial of ngm621 in patients with ga to evaluate ngm621 's effects on disease progression when given every four weeks or every eight weeks . the catalina trial was designed to be a phase 3-supportive or -enabling clinical trial . oncology . o ngm120 . ngm120 , an antagonistic antibody that binds glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor receptor alpha-like , or gfral , and inhibits growth differentiation factor 15 , or gdf15 , signaling , for the potential treatment of cancer and cancer anorexia/cachexia syndrome , referred to as anti-cancer cachexia or cacs . we are currently conducting clinical trials to assess ngm120 's effect on cancer-related cachexia and on cancer in patients with select advanced solid tumors and metastatic pancreatic cancer . merck has a one-time option to license ngm120 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed enrollment in two cohorts of a phase 1a/1b dose-finding clinical trial of ngm120 in november 2020 : a phase 1a cohort evaluating ngm120 as a monotherapy in patients with select advanced solid tumors and a phase 1b cohort evaluating ngm120 in combination with gemcitabine and abraxane® ( paclitaxel protein bound ) in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer . this trial is ongoing . ▪ in january 2021 , initiated a placebo-controlled expansion of the phase 1b portion of the trial testing ngm120 in combination with gemcitabine and abraxane as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer to assess ngm120 's effect on both cancer and cancer-related cachexia , building upon our experiences in the phase 1a/1b trial . ▪ looking forward : we expect to report topline data from the phase 1a/1b trial in the second half of 2021. o ngm707 . ngm707 is a dual antagonist monoclonal antibody that inhibits immunoglobulin-like transcript 2 , or ilt2 , and immunoglobulin-like transcript 4 , or ilt4 . ilt2 and ilt4 are key myeloid and lymphoid checkpoints that may restrict anti-tumor immunity , enable tumors to evade 110 immune detection and contribute to t - cell checkpoint resistance . merck has a one-time option to license ngm 707 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed all preclinical studies of ngm707 to enable an investigational new drug application- , or ind- , submission . ▪ looking forward : we expect to commence a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial of ngm707 in patients with advanced solid tumors in mid-2021 . o ngm438 . ngm438 is an antagonistic antibody that is designed to inhibit leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor 1 , or lair1 , and promote immune detection and activation against advanced solid tumors . merck has a one-time option to license ngm438 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ advanced preclinical ind-enabling studies of ngm438 and began preparing an ind for a planned submission in the second half of 2021 . ▪ looking forward : we expect to commence a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial of ngm438 in patients with advanced solid tumors in the fourth quarter of 2021. we have additional undisclosed programs that are in various stages of development ranging from functional validation to preclinical development . story_separator_special_tag if we do not elect this option , we will instead receive milestone and royalty payments and we will not be required to share in development costs . the aldafermin program is not included in the collaboration agreement and it remains wholly-owned and controlled by us . the term of the current research phase of the collaboration and a general description of the funding we have received and may in the future receive under the collaboration for research and development expenses is included in “ our collaboration with merck ” in part i , item 1a of this annual report on form 10-k and “ overview of our business merck collaboration update ” above . since inception through december 31 , 2020 , merck had paid us $ 495.8 million under the collaboration agreement . due to the nature of our agreement with merck and the timing of related revenue recognition , our revenue has fluctuated from period to period in the past and we expect that it will continue to fluctuate in future periods . we use the cost-based input method in accordance with accounting standards codification 606 , or asc 606 , to calculate the corresponding amount of revenue to recognize at each reporting period . in applying the cost-based input measure of revenue recognition , we measure actual costs incurred relative to budgeted costs to fulfill 114 our performance obligation . we apply considerable judgment when we re-evaluate the estimate of expected costs to satisfy the performance obligation each reporting period and make adjustments for any significant changes . a significant change in the estimate of expected costs for the remainder of the current two -year extension period could have a material impact on revenue recognized ( including the possible reversal of previously recognized revenue ) at each reporting period . the sources of our collaboration revenue were as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th ( 1 ) we adopted asu 2014-09 , revenue from contracts with customers ( topic 606 ) , and subsequent amendments , under the modified retrospective approach on january 1 , 2019. refer to note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for more details . research and development expenses r & d efforts include drug discovery research activities and development activities relating to our product candidates , such as manufacturing drug substance , drug product and other clinical trial materials , conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials and providing support for these operations . our r & d expenses consist of both internal and external costs . our internal costs include employee , consultant , facility and other r & d operating expenses . our external costs include fees paid to cros and other service providers in connection with our clinical trials and preclinical studies , third-party license fees and cmo costs related to manufacturing drug substance , drug product and other clinical trial materials . our r & d expenses related to the development of aldafermin , mk-3655 , ngm621 , ngm120 , ngm707 and ngm438 ( and prior to suspending these programs , ngm386 , ngm395 and ngm217 ) consist primarily of : fees paid to our cros in connection with our clinical trials and other related clinical trial fees , when applicable ; costs related to acquiring and manufacturing drug substance , drug product and clinical trial materials , including continued testing , such as process validation and stability , of drug substance and drug product ; costs related to toxicology testing and other research and preclinical related studies ; salaries and related overhead expenses , which include stock-based compensation and benefits , for personnel in r & d functions ; fees paid to consultants for r & d activities ; r & d operating expenses , including facility costs and depreciation expenses ; and costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements . our clinical development efforts are spread across multiple programs , most of which are subject to the merck collaboration . for the foreseeable future , we anticipate the majority of our financial resources , other than those received from merck and dedicated to merck collaboration activities , will be dedicated to activities required to prepare aldafermin for potential regulatory approval for the treatment of nash , including manufacturing of clinical trial materials and preparation for a potential pivotal program . in the future , we may devote financial resources to other programs in the event merck does not elect to license these programs upon completion of a proof-of-concept study , in the event merck elects to terminate its license to any program it licenses or in the event we opt to co-develop any merck-licensed programs , or if merck no longer funds such programs under modified terms of the collaboration . our r & d efforts under the merck collaboration are extensive and costly and are currently subject to reimbursement under our merck collaboration during the current two-year extension up to the funding caps 115 provided in our c ollaboration a greement . if our r & d expenses for product candidates subject to the merck collaboration , including the clinical development of product candidates subject to the merck collaboration through completion of proof-of-concept studies , exceed the funding caps provided in the c ollaboration a greement , which happened in the fiscal year ended december 31 , 2020 and could happen in the future , we will be required to devote our own financial resources toward the development of such product candidates or , if we are unwilling or unable to do so , pause or suspend such development to remain within the funding caps . in addition , while we can not predict whether or when merck will elect to extend the research phase of the collaboration through march 16 , 2024 or on what terms , or whether or when we will reach agreement with merck on the terms of a modified collaboration generally , we expect that any modified collaboration would

cash flow activity the following table summarizes our cash flow activity ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th cash used in operating activities cash used in operating activities in 2020 was $ 83.5 million , which consisted of a net loss of $ 102.5 million , adjusted for non-cash charges of $ 22.3 million and net cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $ 3.3 million . the non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation expense of $ 15.7 million and depreciation expense of $ 6.6 million . the change in operating assets and liabilities was mainly driven by increases in accrued expenses of $ 6.2 million , prepaid expenses and other current assets of $ 1.9 million , accounts payable of $ 0.9 million and a related party contract asset of $ 6.1 million . these increases were offset by a decrease in deferred rent of $ 2.8 million . cash used in operating activities in 2019 was $ 41.2 million , which consisted of a net loss of $ 42.8 million , adjusted for non-cash charges of $ 19.6 million and net cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $ 17.9 million . the non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation expense of $ 12.9 million and depreciation expense of $ 7.6 million . the change in operating assets and liabilities was mainly driven by increases in the related party receivable of $ 1.5 million , prepaid expenses and other current assets of $ 2.0 million , accounts payable of $ 3.6 million and accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $ 8.9 million . these increases were offset by decreases in deferred rent of $ 2.7 million and contract liabilities of $ 24.2 million , which was primarily due to the adoption of asc 606 and the timing of advance payments from merck related to the reimbursement of costs associated with research and development activities .


 Write a concise suspicious activity report of the following text delimited by triple backquotes. Return your response as a formal report which covers the key points highlighting the location,dates,entity names and account holder information in chronological order of the text.
     ```cash flow activity the following table summarizes our cash flow activity ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_7_th cash used in operating activities cash used in operating activities in 2020 was $ 83.5 million , which consisted of a net loss of $ 102.5 million , adjusted for non-cash charges of $ 22.3 million and net cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $ 3.3 million . the non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation expense of $ 15.7 million and depreciation expense of $ 6.6 million . the change in operating assets and liabilities was mainly driven by increases in accrued expenses of $ 6.2 million , prepaid expenses and other current assets of $ 1.9 million , accounts payable of $ 0.9 million and a related party contract asset of $ 6.1 million . these increases were offset by a decrease in deferred rent of $ 2.8 million . cash used in operating activities in 2019 was $ 41.2 million , which consisted of a net loss of $ 42.8 million , adjusted for non-cash charges of $ 19.6 million and net cash used in operating assets and liabilities of $ 17.9 million . the non-cash charges consisted primarily of stock-based compensation expense of $ 12.9 million and depreciation expense of $ 7.6 million . the change in operating assets and liabilities was mainly driven by increases in the related party receivable of $ 1.5 million , prepaid expenses and other current assets of $ 2.0 million , accounts payable of $ 3.6 million and accrued expenses and other current liabilities of $ 8.9 million . these increases were offset by decreases in deferred rent of $ 2.7 million and contract liabilities of $ 24.2 million , which was primarily due to the adoption of asc 606 and the timing of advance payments from merck related to the reimbursement of costs associated with research and development activities .
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 Suspicious Activity Report : ▪ looking forward : we expect to report topline results from the alpine 2/3 trial in the second quarter of 2021. in the alpine 4 trial , we are continuing enrollment , with a goal of enrolling approximately 160 patients across 70 sites in the united states , europe , hong kong and australia . we are leveraging the results of cohort 4 of our phase 2 clinical trial , as well as guidance from the u.s. food and drug administration , or fda , to inform early phase 3 planning and design . we expect that the alpine 2/3 trial results will 109 provide further information to support our design of a pivotal clinical trial program to enable a potential biologics license application , or bla , submission . o mk-3655 ( formerly ngm313 ) . mk-3655 is an agonistic antibody discovered by us that selectively activates fibroblast growth factor receptor 1c-beta-klotho , or fgfr1c/klb , which regulates insulin sensitivity , blood glucose and liver fat and is administered every four weeks through a subcutaneous injection . mk-3655 is in phase 2b development for the treatment of nash and was optioned by merck sharp & dohme corp. , or merck , under our collaboration with merck described below . in 2020 , merck : ▪ initiated a worldwide phase 2b trial of mk-3655 in patients with nash with f2 or f3 liver fibrosis in the fourth quarter of 2020 and is currently enrolling patients in that trial . retinal diseases . o ngm621 . ngm621 is a humanized immunoglobulin 1 , or igg1 , monoclonal antibody administered via intravitreal , or ivt , injection . ngm621 was engineered to potently inhibit the activity of complement c3 with the treatment goal of reducing disease progression in patients with geographic atrophy , or ga. merck has a one-time option to license ngm621 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed a phase 1 clinical trial of ngm621 testing the safety and tolerability of single and multiple ivt injections in patients with ga and , at the american academy of ophthalmology 2020 virtual meeting in november 2020 , presented safety and pharmacokinetics , or pk , data from the phase 1 trial demonstrating that ngm621 was well tolerated , with no patients experiencing serious adverse events , or saes , drug-related adverse events , or aes , intraocular inflammation , endophthalmitis or choroidal neovascularization . no dose-related safety patterns or concerns were identified . ▪ in july 2020 , initiated the catalina phase 2 clinical trial of ngm621 in patients with ga to evaluate ngm621 's effects on disease progression when given every four weeks or every eight weeks . the catalina trial was designed to be a phase 3-supportive or -enabling clinical trial . oncology . o ngm120 . ngm120 , an antagonistic antibody that binds glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor receptor alpha-like , or gfral , and inhibits growth differentiation factor 15 , or gdf15 , signaling , for the potential treatment of cancer and cancer anorexia/cachexia syndrome , referred to as anti-cancer cachexia or cacs . we are currently conducting clinical trials to assess ngm120 's effect on cancer-related cachexia and on cancer in patients with select advanced solid tumors and metastatic pancreatic cancer . merck has a one-time option to license ngm120 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed enrollment in two cohorts of a phase 1a/1b dose-finding clinical trial of ngm120 in november 2020 : a phase 1a cohort evaluating ngm120 as a monotherapy in patients with select advanced solid tumors and a phase 1b cohort evaluating ngm120 in combination with gemcitabine and abraxane® ( paclitaxel protein bound ) in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer . this trial is ongoing . ▪ in january 2021 , initiated a placebo-controlled expansion of the phase 1b portion of the trial testing ngm120 in combination with gemcitabine and abraxane as first-line treatment in patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer to assess ngm120 's effect on both cancer and cancer-related cachexia , building upon our experiences in the phase 1a/1b trial . ▪ looking forward : we expect to report topline data from the phase 1a/1b trial in the second half of 2021. o ngm707 . ngm707 is a dual antagonist monoclonal antibody that inhibits immunoglobulin-like transcript 2 , or ilt2 , and immunoglobulin-like transcript 4 , or ilt4 . ilt2 and ilt4 are key myeloid and lymphoid checkpoints that may restrict anti-tumor immunity , enable tumors to evade 110 immune detection and contribute to t - cell checkpoint resistance . merck has a one-time option to license ngm 707 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ completed all preclinical studies of ngm707 to enable an investigational new drug application- , or ind- , submission . ▪ looking forward : we expect to commence a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial of ngm707 in patients with advanced solid tumors in mid-2021 . o ngm438 . ngm438 is an antagonistic antibody that is designed to inhibit leukocyte-associated immunoglobulin-like receptor 1 , or lair1 , and promote immune detection and activation against advanced solid tumors . merck has a one-time option to license ngm438 upon completion of a proof-of-concept study in humans . in 2020 and early 2021 , we : ▪ advanced preclinical ind-enabling studies of ngm438 and began preparing an ind for a planned submission in the second half of 2021 . ▪ looking forward : we expect to commence a first-in-human phase 1 clinical trial of ngm438 in patients with advanced solid tumors in the fourth quarter of 2021. we have additional undisclosed programs that are in various stages of development ranging from functional validation to preclinical development . story_separator_special_tag if we do not elect this option , we will instead receive milestone and royalty payments and we will not be required to share in development costs . the aldafermin program is not included in the collaboration agreement and it remains wholly-owned and controlled by us . the term of the current research phase of the collaboration and a general description of the funding we have received and may in the future receive under the collaboration for research and development expenses is included in “ our collaboration with merck ” in part i , item 1a of this annual report on form 10-k and “ overview of our business merck collaboration update ” above . since inception through december 31 , 2020 , merck had paid us $ 495.8 million under the collaboration agreement . due to the nature of our agreement with merck and the timing of related revenue recognition , our revenue has fluctuated from period to period in the past and we expect that it will continue to fluctuate in future periods . we use the cost-based input method in accordance with accounting standards codification 606 , or asc 606 , to calculate the corresponding amount of revenue to recognize at each reporting period . in applying the cost-based input measure of revenue recognition , we measure actual costs incurred relative to budgeted costs to fulfill 114 our performance obligation . we apply considerable judgment when we re-evaluate the estimate of expected costs to satisfy the performance obligation each reporting period and make adjustments for any significant changes . a significant change in the estimate of expected costs for the remainder of the current two -year extension period could have a material impact on revenue recognized ( including the possible reversal of previously recognized revenue ) at each reporting period . the sources of our collaboration revenue were as follows ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th ( 1 ) we adopted asu 2014-09 , revenue from contracts with customers ( topic 606 ) , and subsequent amendments , under the modified retrospective approach on january 1 , 2019. refer to note 2 to our consolidated financial statements for more details . research and development expenses r & d efforts include drug discovery research activities and development activities relating to our product candidates , such as manufacturing drug substance , drug product and other clinical trial materials , conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials and providing support for these operations . our r & d expenses consist of both internal and external costs . our internal costs include employee , consultant , facility and other r & d operating expenses . our external costs include fees paid to cros and other service providers in connection with our clinical trials and preclinical studies , third-party license fees and cmo costs related to manufacturing drug substance , drug product and other clinical trial materials . our r & d expenses related to the development of aldafermin , mk-3655 , ngm621 , ngm120 , ngm707 and ngm438 ( and prior to suspending these programs , ngm386 , ngm395 and ngm217 ) consist primarily of : fees paid to our cros in connection with our clinical trials and other related clinical trial fees , when applicable ; costs related to acquiring and manufacturing drug substance , drug product and clinical trial materials , including continued testing , such as process validation and stability , of drug substance and drug product ; costs related to toxicology testing and other research and preclinical related studies ; salaries and related overhead expenses , which include stock-based compensation and benefits , for personnel in r & d functions ; fees paid to consultants for r & d activities ; r & d operating expenses , including facility costs and depreciation expenses ; and costs related to compliance with regulatory requirements . our clinical development efforts are spread across multiple programs , most of which are subject to the merck collaboration . for the foreseeable future , we anticipate the majority of our financial resources , other than those received from merck and dedicated to merck collaboration activities , will be dedicated to activities required to prepare aldafermin for potential regulatory approval for the treatment of nash , including manufacturing of clinical trial materials and preparation for a potential pivotal program . in the future , we may devote financial resources to other programs in the event merck does not elect to license these programs upon completion of a proof-of-concept study , in the event merck elects to terminate its license to any program it licenses or in the event we opt to co-develop any merck-licensed programs , or if merck no longer funds such programs under modified terms of the collaboration . our r & d efforts under the merck collaboration are extensive and costly and are currently subject to reimbursement under our merck collaboration during the current two-year extension up to the funding caps 115 provided in our c ollaboration a greement . if our r & d expenses for product candidates subject to the merck collaboration , including the clinical development of product candidates subject to the merck collaboration through completion of proof-of-concept studies , exceed the funding caps provided in the c ollaboration a greement , which happened in the fiscal year ended december 31 , 2020 and could happen in the future , we will be required to devote our own financial resources toward the development of such product candidates or , if we are unwilling or unable to do so , pause or suspend such development to remain within the funding caps . in addition , while we can not predict whether or when merck will elect to extend the research phase of the collaboration through march 16 , 2024 or on what terms , or whether or when we will reach agreement with merck on the terms of a modified collaboration generally , we expect that any modified collaboration would

