3. Commitments and Contingencies Lease Commitments On September 1, 2014, the Company signed an operating lease for laboratory and office space at the Innovation Hub, Insight Park located on the UM campus. The lease term commenced on October 1, 2014 and expires on December 31, 2017. There is annual escalating rent provisions and two months of free rent in the agreement. The total cash payments over the life of the lease are divided by the total number of months in the lease period and the average rent will be charged to expense each month during the lease period. The monthly amount charged to rent expense is $9,267. In October 2014, we signed a lease agreement for our corporate office headquarters that consists of approximately 4,087 square feet located at 650 Town Center Drive, Suite 1770, Costa Mesa, CA 92626. The lease expired on October 31, 2016 and our monthly rent was $5,373, payable in equal monthly installments with annual escalations. There was no subsequent renewal upon expiration of this lease. The Company currently maintains its principal executive offices located in a shared office suite located at 600 Anton Blvd., Suite 1100, Costa Mesa, CA, 92626 under a month-to-month agreement. In November 2015, the Company entered into an operating lease for its office and lab furnishings both in Costa Mesa and the Innovation Hub laboratory. The lease expires on November 3, 2017 and the monthly lease payments are $7,559. Total net rent expense related to our operating leases for the three months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, was $54,555 and $79,771, respectively. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, total net rent expense from operating leases was $168,863 and $240,746, respectively. Future minimum payments under the non-cancelable portion of our operating leases as of September 30, 2017 are as follows: Years ended December 31, 2017 $ 8,066 2018 - 2019 - 2020 - 2021 - Thereafter - Total $ 8,066 Related Party Matters In June 2014, our subsidiary entered into an independent contractor agreeme