COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES Clinical Trial Agreement From time to time, the Company enters into agreements with contract research organizations and other service providers. In August 2018, the Company entered into such an agreement for its planned Phase 3 celiac disease trial. Under this agreement, the Company expects to pay approximately $1.1 million for data management over the course of the Phase 3 celiac disease trial for data management and biostatistics services. Employment Agreements Prior to March 11, 2018, the Company was party to employment agreements with certain executives of the Company. Under the terms of these agreements, the Company agreed to pay the executives certain payments upon the achievement of financial milestone events. These milestone events were based on total debt or equity funding received by the Company. During the three and nine months ended September 30, 2017 , the initial funding milestone was reached and the executives in the aggregate were paid $145,000 in accordance with the terms of these agreements. During January 2018, additional financial milestone events were achieved through the Merger and Equity Issuance events and the Company paid these executives approximately $1.1 million in accordance with the agreements, which was included in accrued expenses as of December 31, 2017 . On March 11, 2018, the Company entered into amended and restated executive employment agreements with the executives and new executive employment agreements with certain new executives (the Executive Agreements). The Executive Agreements provide an annual base salary and the opportunity to participate in the Companys equity compensation, employee benefit and bonus plans once they are established and approved by the Companys board of directors. The Executive Agreements contain severance provisions if the executives are terminated under certain conditions that would provide the executive with 12 months of their base salary and up to 12 months of continuation of health insurance benefits. Office Lease In October 2017, the Company entered into a three -year lease for office space that expires on September 30, 2020 . Base annual rent is $60,000 , or $5,000 per month. The first two months of rent were paid in advance upon lease signing and the next ten months of rent were paid in advance on November 30, 2017. Beginning in October 2018, monthly payments of $5,000 will be due and payable over the remaining 24 -month term. A security deposit of $5,000 was paid in October 2017. The lease contains a two -year renewal option. Legal The Company is not currently involved in any legal matters arising in the normal course of business. From time to time, the Company could become involved in disputes and various litigation matters that arise in the normal course of business. These may include disputes and lawsuits related to intellectual property, licensing, contract law and employee relations matters. Periodically, the Company reviews the status of significant matters, if any exist, and assesses its potential financial exposure. If the potential loss from any claim or legal claim is considered probable and the amount can be estimated, the Company accrues a liability for the estimated loss. Legal proceedings are subject to uncertainties, and the outcomes are difficult to predict; therefore, accruals are based on the best information available at the time. As additional information becomes available, the Company reassesses the potential liability related to pending claims and litigation.