9.Commitments and Contingencies

 

The Company leases approximately 33,000 square feet of research and office space under a non-cancelable operating lease expiring in 2023.  The Company has an option to renew the lease for one additional five-year term. Additionally, the Company leases approximately 12,000 square feet of office space under a cancelable operating lease expiring in April 2019. Rent expense is recognized on a straight-line basis and was $0.7 million, $0.6 million,  and $0.5 million for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The contractually required cash payments under these leases at December 31, 2018 are as follows (in thousands):

 

 

 

 

 

2019

    

$

611

2020

 

 

629

2021

 

 

648

2022

 

 

668

2023

 

 

282

Total minimum lease payments

 

$

2,838

 

On March 31, 2016, the Company amended a corporate development agreement with a supplier to include a minimum purchase commitment per year. Total research and development expense related to the minimum payment was $1.1 million and $1.2 million during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively. There were no remaining future minimum payments under this commitment at December 31, 2018.

Historical Timeline

Fiscal YearFiled
2018Mar 15, 2019Showing above
2017Mar 13, 2018
2016Feb 23, 2017
2015Feb 19, 2016

About Commitments Disclosures

Commitments and contingencies disclosures catalog a company's off-balance-sheet obligations and legal exposures — purchase commitments, guarantee arrangements, pending litigation, and regulatory proceedings. These items represent potential future cash outflows that may not appear as liabilities on the balance sheet until they become probable and estimable.

Key signals: litigation reserves and disclosed loss ranges quantify management's estimate of legal exposure, but unquantified "reasonably possible" losses often represent the larger risk. Watch for changes in language around pending cases — shifts from "remote" to "reasonably possible" or increases in estimated loss ranges signal deteriorating outcomes. Unconditional purchase obligations and take-or-pay contracts create fixed cost structures that reduce operational flexibility. Guarantee arrangements for subsidiaries or joint ventures can create cascading obligations. Compare the total commitment schedule against projected free cash flow to assess whether the company can meet its obligations without additional financing.