we are also developing mgl-3196 for dyslipidemia , particularly genetic dyslipidemias such as familial hypercholesterolemia , or fh , including both homozygous and heterozygous forms of the disease . we have completed a phase 2 clinical trial in heterozygous fh , or hefh , patients . mgl-3196 is a once-daily oral pill that has been studied in six completed phase 1 trials in a total of 183 subjects . mgl-3196 appeared to be safe and well-tolerated in these trials , which included a single ascending dose trial , a multiple ascending dose trial , two drug interaction trials with statins , a multiple dose mass balance study , and a single dose relative bioavailability study of tablet formulations versus capsule formulation . key developments clinical trials in october 2016 , we initiated a phase 2 clinical trial in nash ( [ nct02912260 ] at www.clinicaltrials.gov ) . the randomized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , multi-center phase 2 study enrolled 125 patients 18 years of age and older with biopsy-confirmed nash . patients are randomized to receive either placebo or mgl-3196 , twice as many receiving mgl-3196 as placebo . efficacy will be confirmed at the end of the trial ( 36 weeks ) by repeat magnetic resonance imagingproton density fat fraction ( mri-pdff ) and conventional liver biopsy to examine histological evidence for the resolution of nash . recent published data show a high correlation of reduction of liver fat measured by mri-pdff to nash scoring on liver biopsy . other secondary endpoints include changes in clinically relevant biomarkers at 12 and 36 weeks , improvement in fibrosis by at least one stage with no worsening of steatohepatitis , and safety and tolerability . we reached our top-line analysis of the primary endpoint in december 2017 , and we expect to reach our top-line analysis of the secondary endpoint ( nash assessment on liver biopsy ) by spring of 2018. in february 2017 , we initiated a phase 2 clinical trial in hefh ( [ nct03038022 ] at www.clinicaltrials.gov ) . the 12-week , randomized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , multi-center phase 2 clinical trial enrolled 116 patients with hefh in several european countries . patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either mgl-3196 or placebo , in addition to their current drug regimen ( including high dose statins and or ezetimibe ) . the primary endpoint of the study was 52 reduction of ldl cholesterol , with secondary endpoints including reductions in tgs , lp ( a ) , and apob , as well as safety . lp ( a ) is a severely atherogenic lipid particle , commonly elevated in familial hypercholesterolemia patients , the levels of which are not adequately reduced by existing lipid lowering therapies . thr- b agonism is one of the few therapeutic approaches that can substantially lower lp ( a ) . in february 2018 , we announced positive results from the 12 week phase 2 clinical trial in hefh . reverse merger on july 22 , 2016 , synta completed its business combination with private madrigal in accordance with the terms of an agreement and plan of merger and reorganization , dated as of april 13 , 2016 , or the merger agreement . pursuant to the merger agreement , synta formed a wholly-owned subsidiary that merged with and into private madrigal , with private madrigal surviving the merger and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of synta , or the merger . in connection with , and prior to the consummation of , the merger , synta effected a 1-for-35 reverse stock split of its common stock , or the reverse stock split , and , following the merger , changed its name to `` madrigal pharmaceuticals , inc. `` all shares and per share amounts have been retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reverse stock split , except as otherwise disclosed . following the consummation of the merger , our business became the business conducted by private madrigal prior to the consummation of the merger . basis of presentation research and development expenses research and development expenses primarily consist of costs associated with our research activities , including the preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates . we expense our research and development expenses as incurred . we contract with clinical research organizations to manage our clinical trials under agreed upon budgets for each study , with oversight by our clinical program managers . we account for nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities as expenses when the service has been performed or when the goods have been received . manufacturing expense includes costs associated with drug formulation development and clinical drug production . we do not track employee and facility related research and development costs by project , as we typically use our employee and infrastructure resources across multiple research and development programs . we believe that the allocation of such costs would be arbitrary and not be meaningful . our research and development expenses consist primarily of : salaries and related expense , including stock-based compensation ; external expenses paid to clinical trial sites , contract research organizations , laboratories , database software and consultants that conduct clinical trials ; expenses related to development and the production of nonclinical and clinical trial supplies , including fees paid to contract manufacturers ; expenses related to preclinical studies ; expenses related to compliance with drug development regulatory requirements ; and other allocated expenses , which include direct and allocated expenses for depreciation of equipment and other supplies . we expect to continue to incur substantial expenses related to our development activities for the foreseeable future as we conduct our phase 2 clinical program , manufacturing and toxicology studies . story_separator_special_tag product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development , primarily due to the increased size and duration of later- 53 stage clinical trials , additional drug manufacturing requirements , and later stage toxicology studies such as carcinogenicity studies . our research and development expenses have increased year over year in each of 2016 and 2017 and we expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially in the future . the process of conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time consuming . the probability of success for each product candidate is affected by numerous factors , including preclinical data , clinical data , competition , manufacturing capability and commercial viability . accordingly , we may never succeed in achieving marketing approval for any of our product candidates completion dates and costs for our clinical development programs as well as our research program can vary significantly for each current and future product candidate and are difficult to predict . as a result , we can not estimate with any degree of certainty the costs we will incur in connection with the development of our product candidates at this point in time . we expect that we will make determinations as to which programs and product candidates to pursue and how much funding to direct to each program and product candidate on an ongoing basis in response to the scientific success of early research programs , results of ongoing and future clinical trials , our ability to enter into collaborative agreements with respect to programs or potential product candidates , as well as ongoing assessments as to each current or future product candidate 's commercial potential . general and administrative expenses general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries , benefits and stock-based compensation expenses for employees , management costs , costs associated with obtaining and maintaining our patent portfolio , professional fees for accounting , auditing , consulting and legal services , and allocated overhead expenses . we expect that our general and administrative expenses may increase in the future as we expand our operating activities , maintain and expand our patent portfolio and incur additional costs associated with being a public company and maintaining compliance with exchange listing and sec requirements . we expect these potential increases will likely include management costs , legal fees , accounting fees , directors ' and officers ' liability insurance premiums and expenses associated with investor relations . critical accounting policies and estimates our management 's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with gaap . the preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities , and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements . on an ongoing basis , we evaluate our estimates and judgments , including those related to accrued research and development expenses . we base our estimates on historical experience , known trends and events , and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions . research and development costs research and development costs are expensed as incurred . research and development costs are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities , including internal costs ( including stock-based compensation ) , costs for consultants , and other costs associated with the company 's preclinical and clinical programs . in particular , madrigal has conducted safety studies in animals , optimized and implemented the api manufacturing , and conducted phase 1 & 2 clinical trials , all of which are considered research and development expenditures . 54 stock-based compensation we recognize stock-based compensation expense based on the grant date fair value of stock options granted to employees , officers and directors . we use the black-scholes option pricing model to determine the grant date fair value as our management believes it is the most appropriate valuation method for its option grants . the black-scholes model requires inputs for risk-free interest rate , dividend yield , volatility and expected lives of the options . certain of the employee stock options granted by us are structured to qualify as incentive stock options , or isos . under current tax regulations , we do not receive a tax deduction for the issuance , exercise or disposition of isos if the employee meets certain holding requirements . if the employee does not meet the holding requirements , a disqualifying disposition occurs , at which time we may receive a tax deduction . we do not record tax benefits related to isos unless and until a disqualifying disposition is reported . in the event of a disqualifying disposition , the entire tax benefit is recorded as a reduction of income tax expense . we have not recognized any income tax benefit for its share-based compensation arrangements due to the fact that we do not believe it is more likely than not it will realize the related deferred tax assets . results of operations comparison years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 the following table provides comparative results of operations for the years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th research and development expense comparison of years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 our research and development expenses were $ 24.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to $ 15.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. research and development expenses increased by $ 8.5

liquidity and capital resources as of december 31 , 2017 , we had cash , cash equivalents and marketable securities of $ 191.5 million . to date , we have funded our operations primarily through the issuance of convertible debt , the issuance of shares of common stock and preferred stock , and the proceeds from the merger . we believe our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund our operations past one year from the issuance of these financial statements . our primary uses of capital are , and we expect will continue to be , funding research efforts and the development of our product candidates , compensation and related expenses , hiring additional staff , including clinical , scientific , operational , financial and management personnel , and costs associated with operating as a public company . we expect to incur substantial expenditures in the foreseeable future for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates . we plan to continue to fund losses from operations and capital funding needs through future equity and or debt financings , as well as potential additional collaborations or strategic partnerships with other companies . the sale of additional equity or convertible debt could result in additional dilution to our stockholders .


 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.
     ```liquidity and capital resources as of december 31 , 2017 , we had cash , cash equivalents and marketable securities of $ 191.5 million . to date , we have funded our operations primarily through the issuance of convertible debt , the issuance of shares of common stock and preferred stock , and the proceeds from the merger . we believe our cash and cash equivalents and marketable securities will be sufficient to fund our operations past one year from the issuance of these financial statements . our primary uses of capital are , and we expect will continue to be , funding research efforts and the development of our product candidates , compensation and related expenses , hiring additional staff , including clinical , scientific , operational , financial and management personnel , and costs associated with operating as a public company . we expect to incur substantial expenditures in the foreseeable future for the development and potential commercialization of our product candidates . we plan to continue to fund losses from operations and capital funding needs through future equity and or debt financings , as well as potential additional collaborations or strategic partnerships with other companies . the sale of additional equity or convertible debt could result in additional dilution to our stockholders .
```    
 Suspicious Activity Report : we are also developing mgl-3196 for dyslipidemia , particularly genetic dyslipidemias such as familial hypercholesterolemia , or fh , including both homozygous and heterozygous forms of the disease . we have completed a phase 2 clinical trial in heterozygous fh , or hefh , patients . mgl-3196 is a once-daily oral pill that has been studied in six completed phase 1 trials in a total of 183 subjects . mgl-3196 appeared to be safe and well-tolerated in these trials , which included a single ascending dose trial , a multiple ascending dose trial , two drug interaction trials with statins , a multiple dose mass balance study , and a single dose relative bioavailability study of tablet formulations versus capsule formulation . key developments clinical trials in october 2016 , we initiated a phase 2 clinical trial in nash ( [ nct02912260 ] at www.clinicaltrials.gov ) . the randomized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , multi-center phase 2 study enrolled 125 patients 18 years of age and older with biopsy-confirmed nash . patients are randomized to receive either placebo or mgl-3196 , twice as many receiving mgl-3196 as placebo . efficacy will be confirmed at the end of the trial ( 36 weeks ) by repeat magnetic resonance imagingproton density fat fraction ( mri-pdff ) and conventional liver biopsy to examine histological evidence for the resolution of nash . recent published data show a high correlation of reduction of liver fat measured by mri-pdff to nash scoring on liver biopsy . other secondary endpoints include changes in clinically relevant biomarkers at 12 and 36 weeks , improvement in fibrosis by at least one stage with no worsening of steatohepatitis , and safety and tolerability . we reached our top-line analysis of the primary endpoint in december 2017 , and we expect to reach our top-line analysis of the secondary endpoint ( nash assessment on liver biopsy ) by spring of 2018. in february 2017 , we initiated a phase 2 clinical trial in hefh ( [ nct03038022 ] at www.clinicaltrials.gov ) . the 12-week , randomized , double-blind , placebo-controlled , multi-center phase 2 clinical trial enrolled 116 patients with hefh in several european countries . patients were randomized in a 2:1 ratio to receive either mgl-3196 or placebo , in addition to their current drug regimen ( including high dose statins and or ezetimibe ) . the primary endpoint of the study was 52 reduction of ldl cholesterol , with secondary endpoints including reductions in tgs , lp ( a ) , and apob , as well as safety . lp ( a ) is a severely atherogenic lipid particle , commonly elevated in familial hypercholesterolemia patients , the levels of which are not adequately reduced by existing lipid lowering therapies . thr- b agonism is one of the few therapeutic approaches that can substantially lower lp ( a ) . in february 2018 , we announced positive results from the 12 week phase 2 clinical trial in hefh . reverse merger on july 22 , 2016 , synta completed its business combination with private madrigal in accordance with the terms of an agreement and plan of merger and reorganization , dated as of april 13 , 2016 , or the merger agreement . pursuant to the merger agreement , synta formed a wholly-owned subsidiary that merged with and into private madrigal , with private madrigal surviving the merger and becoming a wholly-owned subsidiary of synta , or the merger . in connection with , and prior to the consummation of , the merger , synta effected a 1-for-35 reverse stock split of its common stock , or the reverse stock split , and , following the merger , changed its name to `` madrigal pharmaceuticals , inc. `` all shares and per share amounts have been retrospectively adjusted to give effect to the reverse stock split , except as otherwise disclosed . following the consummation of the merger , our business became the business conducted by private madrigal prior to the consummation of the merger . basis of presentation research and development expenses research and development expenses primarily consist of costs associated with our research activities , including the preclinical and clinical development of our product candidates . we expense our research and development expenses as incurred . we contract with clinical research organizations to manage our clinical trials under agreed upon budgets for each study , with oversight by our clinical program managers . we account for nonrefundable advance payments for goods and services that will be used in future research and development activities as expenses when the service has been performed or when the goods have been received . manufacturing expense includes costs associated with drug formulation development and clinical drug production . we do not track employee and facility related research and development costs by project , as we typically use our employee and infrastructure resources across multiple research and development programs . we believe that the allocation of such costs would be arbitrary and not be meaningful . our research and development expenses consist primarily of : salaries and related expense , including stock-based compensation ; external expenses paid to clinical trial sites , contract research organizations , laboratories , database software and consultants that conduct clinical trials ; expenses related to development and the production of nonclinical and clinical trial supplies , including fees paid to contract manufacturers ; expenses related to preclinical studies ; expenses related to compliance with drug development regulatory requirements ; and other allocated expenses , which include direct and allocated expenses for depreciation of equipment and other supplies . we expect to continue to incur substantial expenses related to our development activities for the foreseeable future as we conduct our phase 2 clinical program , manufacturing and toxicology studies . story_separator_special_tag product candidates in later stages of clinical development generally have higher development costs than those in earlier stages of clinical development , primarily due to the increased size and duration of later- 53 stage clinical trials , additional drug manufacturing requirements , and later stage toxicology studies such as carcinogenicity studies . our research and development expenses have increased year over year in each of 2016 and 2017 and we expect that our research and development expenses will increase substantially in the future . the process of conducting preclinical studies and clinical trials necessary to obtain regulatory approval is costly and time consuming . the probability of success for each product candidate is affected by numerous factors , including preclinical data , clinical data , competition , manufacturing capability and commercial viability . accordingly , we may never succeed in achieving marketing approval for any of our product candidates completion dates and costs for our clinical development programs as well as our research program can vary significantly for each current and future product candidate and are difficult to predict . as a result , we can not estimate with any degree of certainty the costs we will incur in connection with the development of our product candidates at this point in time . we expect that we will make determinations as to which programs and product candidates to pursue and how much funding to direct to each program and product candidate on an ongoing basis in response to the scientific success of early research programs , results of ongoing and future clinical trials , our ability to enter into collaborative agreements with respect to programs or potential product candidates , as well as ongoing assessments as to each current or future product candidate 's commercial potential . general and administrative expenses general and administrative expenses consist primarily of salaries , benefits and stock-based compensation expenses for employees , management costs , costs associated with obtaining and maintaining our patent portfolio , professional fees for accounting , auditing , consulting and legal services , and allocated overhead expenses . we expect that our general and administrative expenses may increase in the future as we expand our operating activities , maintain and expand our patent portfolio and incur additional costs associated with being a public company and maintaining compliance with exchange listing and sec requirements . we expect these potential increases will likely include management costs , legal fees , accounting fees , directors ' and officers ' liability insurance premiums and expenses associated with investor relations . critical accounting policies and estimates our management 's discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based on our financial statements which have been prepared in accordance with gaap . the preparation of these financial statements requires us to make estimates and judgments that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities , and expenses and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements . on an ongoing basis , we evaluate our estimates and judgments , including those related to accrued research and development expenses . we base our estimates on historical experience , known trends and events , and various other factors that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances , the results of which form the basis for making judgments about the carrying value of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources . actual results may differ materially from these estimates under different assumptions or conditions . research and development costs research and development costs are expensed as incurred . research and development costs are comprised of costs incurred in performing research and development activities , including internal costs ( including stock-based compensation ) , costs for consultants , and other costs associated with the company 's preclinical and clinical programs . in particular , madrigal has conducted safety studies in animals , optimized and implemented the api manufacturing , and conducted phase 1 & 2 clinical trials , all of which are considered research and development expenditures . 54 stock-based compensation we recognize stock-based compensation expense based on the grant date fair value of stock options granted to employees , officers and directors . we use the black-scholes option pricing model to determine the grant date fair value as our management believes it is the most appropriate valuation method for its option grants . the black-scholes model requires inputs for risk-free interest rate , dividend yield , volatility and expected lives of the options . certain of the employee stock options granted by us are structured to qualify as incentive stock options , or isos . under current tax regulations , we do not receive a tax deduction for the issuance , exercise or disposition of isos if the employee meets certain holding requirements . if the employee does not meet the holding requirements , a disqualifying disposition occurs , at which time we may receive a tax deduction . we do not record tax benefits related to isos unless and until a disqualifying disposition is reported . in the event of a disqualifying disposition , the entire tax benefit is recorded as a reduction of income tax expense . we have not recognized any income tax benefit for its share-based compensation arrangements due to the fact that we do not believe it is more likely than not it will realize the related deferred tax assets . results of operations comparison years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 the following table provides comparative results of operations for the years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 ( in thousands ) : replace_table_token_4_th research and development expense comparison of years ended december 31 , 2017 and 2016 our research and development expenses were $ 24.4 million for the year ended december 31 , 2017 compared to $ 15.9 million for the year ended december 31 , 2016. research and development expenses increased by $ 8.5

