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Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Feb. 01, 2018	Jun. 30, 2017
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	HERON THERAPEUTICS, INC. /DE/
Entity Central Index Key	0000818033
Trading Symbol	hrtx
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		64,648,383
Entity Public Float			$ 624,943
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2017
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2017
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false

Consolidated Balance Sheets - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
ASSETS
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 144,583	$ 13,414
Short-term investments	27,796	37,724
Accounts receivable, net	41,874	1,960
Inventory	10,108	5,340
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	3,702	3,705
Total current assets	228,063	62,143
Property and equipment, net	5,981	5,076
Other assets	263	263
Total assets	234,307	67,482
LIABILITIES AND STOCKHOLDERS’ EQUITY (DEFICIT)
Accounts payable	18,769	6,814
Accrued clinical liabilities	26,920	13,207
Accrued payroll and employee liabilities	8,860	8,414
Other accrued liabilities	17,175	6,288
Deferred revenue	2,763	1,099
Promissory note payable to related party	25,000
Convertible notes payable to related parties, net of discount	3,684	2,911
Total current liabilities	103,171	38,733
Promissory note payable to related party, non-current		50,000
Total liabilities	103,171	88,733
Commitments and contingencies (see Note 5)
Stockholders’ equity (deficit):
Preferred stock, $0.01 par value: 2,500 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016
Common stock, $0.01 par value: 100,000 shares authorized; 64,609 and 39,355 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2017 and 2016, respectively	646	394
Additional paid-in capital	913,955	564,343
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(10)	(17)
Accumulated deficit	(783,455)	(585,971)
Total stockholders’ equity (deficit)	131,136	(21,251)
Total liabilities and stockholders’ equity (deficit)	$ 234,307	$ 67,482

Consolidated Balance Sheets (Parentheticals) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Preferred stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized (in shares)	2,500	2,500
Preferred stock, shares issued (in shares)	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	0	0
Common stock, par value (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized (in shares)	100,000	100,000
Common stock, shares issued (in shares)	64,609	39,355
Common stock, shares outstanding (in shares)	64,609	39,355

Consolidated Statements of Operations and Comprehensive Loss - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Revenues:
Net product sales	$ 30,767	$ 1,279
Operating expenses:
Cost of product sales	4,588	35
Research and development	138,582	103,125	61,183
General and administrative	25,554	21,366	18,395
Sales and marketing	56,601	47,668	17,347
Total operating expenses	225,325	172,194	96,925
Loss from operations	(194,558)	(170,915)	(96,925)
Other expense, net:
Interest income	1,049	445	174
Interest expense	(3,937)	(2,664)	(958)
Other (expense) income	(38)	(9)	118
Total other expense, net	(2,926)	(2,228)	(666)
Net loss	(197,484)	(173,143)	(97,591)
Other comprehensive loss:
Net unrealized loss on short-term investments	7	23	(40)
Comprehensive loss	$ (197,477)	$ (173,120)	$ (97,631)
Basic and diluted net loss per share (in dollars per share)	$ (3.65)	$ (4.56)	$ (2.95)
Shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share (in shares)	54,040	37,925	33,081

Consolidated Statements of Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Common Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	AOCI Attributable to Parent [Member]	Retained Earnings [Member]	Total
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2014	29,227,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2014	$ 292	$ 378,007		$ (315,237)	$ 63,062
Issuance of common stock in a public offering, net (in shares)	5,520,000
Issuance of common stock in a public offering, net	$ 55	128,144			128,199
Conversion benefit included in Convertible Notes issued		328			328
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan (in shares)	31,000
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan		257			$ 257
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options (in shares)	1,042,000				1,042,343
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options	$ 11	9,524			$ 9,535
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants (in shares)	286,000
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants	$ 3	(3)
Stock-based compensation expense		14,360			14,360
Net loss				(97,591)	(97,591)
Net unrealized loss on short-term investments			(40)		(40)
Comprehensive loss					(97,631)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2015	36,106,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2015	$ 361	530,617	(40)	(412,828)	118,110
Conversion benefit included in Convertible Notes issued		348			348
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan (in shares)	55,000
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan	$ 1	770			$ 771
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options (in shares)	798,000				798,363
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options	$ 8	6,676			$ 6,684
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants (in shares)	2,396,000
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants	$ 24	(24)
Stock-based compensation expense		25,956			25,956
Net loss				(173,143)	(173,143)
Net unrealized loss on short-term investments			23		23
Comprehensive loss					(173,120)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2016	39,355,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 394	564,343	(17)	(585,971)	(21,251)
Issuance of common stock in a public offering, net (in shares)	23,822,000
Issuance of common stock in a public offering, net	$ 238	306,041			306,279
Conversion benefit included in Convertible Notes issued		369			369
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan (in shares)	77,000
Issuance of common stock under Employee Stock Purchase Plan	$ 1	988			$ 989
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options (in shares)	1,351,000				1,350,605
Issuance of common stock on exercise of stock options	$ 13	11,450			$ 11,463
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants (in shares)	4,000
Issuance of common stock on exercise of warrants
Stock-based compensation expense		30,538			30,538
Net loss				(197,484)	(197,484)
Net unrealized loss on short-term investments			7		7
Comprehensive loss					(197,477)
Issuance of warrants		226			226
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2017	64,609,000
Balance at Dec. 31, 2017	$ 646	$ 913,955	$ (10)	$ (783,455)	$ 131,136

Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Operating activities:
Net loss	$ (197,484)	$ (173,143)	$ (97,591)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used for operating activities:
Stock-based compensation expense	30,538	25,956	14,360
Depreciation and amortization	1,531	1,099	734
Amortization of debt discount	773	689	624
Loss (gain) on disposal of property and equipment	39	9	(118)
(Accretion of discount) amortization of premium on short-term investments	(278)	274	89
Change in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	(39,914)	(1,960)
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	3	(338)	(2,443)
Inventory	(4,768)	(5,340)
Accounts payable	11,955	3,514	751
Accrued clinical liabilities	13,713	7,976	1,420
Accrued payroll and employee liabilities	446	3,586	2,097
Deferred revenue	1,664	1,099
Other accrued liabilities	11,482	2,482	1,551
Net cash used for operating activities	(170,300)	(134,097)	(78,526)
Investing activities:
Purchases of short-term investments	(121,570)	(43,318)	(56,115)
Maturities of short-term investments	131,783	61,329
Purchases of property and equipment	(2,553)	(3,135)	(1,086)
Proceeds from the sale of property and equipment	78		241
Net cash provided by (used for) investing activities	7,738	14,876	(56,960)
Financing activities:
Net proceeds from sale of common stock and/or pre-funded warrants	306,279		128,199
Proceeds from purchases under the Employee Stock Purchase Plan	989	771	257
Proceeds from stock option exercises	11,463	6,684	9,535
Proceeds from issuance of promissory note payable to related party		50,000
Repayment of promissory note payable to related party	(25,000)
Net cash provided by financing activities	293,731	57,455	137,991
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	131,169	(61,766)	2,505
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year	13,414	75,180	72,675
Cash and cash equivalents at end of year	144,583	13,414	75,180
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information:
Interest paid	$ 2,789	$ 1,622

Note 1 - Organization and Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Business Description and Basis of Presentation [Text Block]

1.	Organization and Business

Heron Therapeutics, Inc.

(“Company”, “Heron”, or “we”) is a commercial-stage biotechnology company focused on improving the lives of patients by developing best-in-class treatments that address some of the most important unmet patient needs. We are developing novel, patient-focused solutions that apply our innovative science and technologies to already approved pharmacological agents for patients suffering from cancer or pain.

August 9, 2016,

our

first

commercial product,

SUSTOL

(granisetron) extended-release injection (“SUSTOL”), was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”). We developed SUSTOL for the prevention of chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (“CINV”). SUSTOL is indicated, in combination with other antiemetics, in adults for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of moderately emetogenic chemotherapy (“MEC”) or anthracycline and cyclophosphamide combination chemotherapy regimens. We commenced commercial sales of SUSTOL in the U.S. in

October 2016.

November 9, 2017,

our

second

commercial product,

CINVANTI™ (aprepitant) injectable emulsion (“CINVANTI”), was approved by the FDA. CINVANTI is an intravenous formulation of the neurokinin-

receptor antagonist aprepitant. We developed CINVANTI for the prevention of CINV as an adjunct to other antiemetic agents. CINVANTI, in combination with other antiemetic agents, is indicated in adults for the prevention of acute and delayed nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of high emetogenic cancer chemotherapy including high-dose cisplatin and nausea and vomiting associated with initial and repeat courses of MEC. We commenced commercial sales of CINVANTI in the U.S. in

January 2018.

HTX-

011

is a long-acting formulation of the local anesthetic bupivacaine in a fixed-dose combination with the anti-inflammatory meloxicam for the prevention of postoperative pain. By delivering sustained levels of both a potent anesthetic and an anti-inflammatory agent directly to the site of tissue injury, HTX-

011

was designed to provide superior pain relief while potentially reducing the need for systemically administered pain medications such as opioids, which carry the risk of harmful side effects, abuse and addiction. The Phase

development program for HTX-

011

was designed to target the many patients undergoing a wide range of surgeries who experience significant postoperative pain.

Following an End-of-Phase

meeting with the FDA, we initiated our Phase

program, which completed enrollment in

January 2018.

We anticipate reporting top-line results in the

first

half of

2018,

and we expect to file a New Drug Application for HTX-

011

in the

second

half of

2018.

We have been granted Fast Track designation for HTX-

011

by the FDA for local administration into the surgical site to reduce postoperative pain and the need for opioid analgesics for

hours. Fast Track designation is intended to facilitate the development and expedite the review of new therapies to treat serious conditions with unmet medical needs by providing sponsors with the opportunity for frequent interactions with the FDA.

We have incurred significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations. As of

December 31, 2017,

our accumulated deficit was

$783.5

million, and we had

$172.4

million in cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments. Based on our current operating plan and projections, management believes that available cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments are sufficient to fund operations for at least

one

year from the date this Annual Report on Form

-K is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Significant Accounting Policies [Text Block]

2.	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Heron Therapeutics, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Heron

Therapeutics, B.V., which was organized in the Netherlands in

March 2015.

Heron Therapeutics B.V. has

operations and

material assets or liabilities, and there have been

significant transactions related to Heron Therapeutics B.V. since its inception.

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the

U.S. requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the financial statements and disclosures made in the accompanying notes to the financial statements. Our critical accounting policies that involve significant judgment and estimates include revenue recognition, inventory, accrued clinical liabilities, income taxes and stock-based compensation. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates.

Cash,

Cash Equivalents

and Short-Term Investments

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments with original maturities from purchase date of

three

months or less.

Short-term investments consist of securities with

contractual maturities of greater than

three

months to

one

year. We have classified our short-term investments as available-for-sale securities in the accompanying consolidated financial statements. Available-for-sale securities are stated at fair market value, with unrealized gains and losses reported in other comprehensive loss and realized gains and losses included in other expense, net. The cost of securities sold is based on the specific identification method. Interest and dividends on securities classified as available-for-sale are included in other income.

Our bank and investment accounts have been placed under control agreements in accordance with our

Senior Secured Convertible Notes (“Convertible Notes”) and our Subordinated Secured Promissory Note (“

Promissory Note”) (see Note

Fair Value of

Financial Instruments

A company

may

elect to use fair value to measure accounts and loans receivable, available-for-sale and held-to-maturity securities, equity method investments, accounts payable, guarantees and issued debt. Other eligible items includ

e firm commitments for financial instruments that otherwise would

not

be recognized at inception and non-cash warranty obligations where a warrantor is permitted to pay a

third

-party to provide the warranty goods or services. If the use of fair value is elected, any upfront costs and fees related to the item such as debt issuance costs must be recognized in earnings and cannot be deferred. The fair value election is irrevocable and generally made on an instrument-by-instrument basis, even if a company has similar instruments that it elects

not

to measure based on fair value. Unrealized gains and losses on existing items for which fair value has been elected are reported as a cumulative adjustment to beginning retained earnings, and any changes in fair value are recognized in earnings. We have elected to

not

apply the fair value option to our financial assets and liabilities.

Financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, receivables,

inventory, prepaid expenses, other current assets, accounts payable and accrued expenses, are carried at cost, which is considered to be representative of their respective fair values because of the short-term maturity of these instruments.

Short-term available-for-sale investments are carried at fair value (see Note

)

. Our Convertible Notes and Promissory Note outstanding at

December

31,

2017

not

have a readily available ascertainable market value, however, the carrying value is considered to approximate its fair value.

Concentration of Credit Risk

Cash,

cash equivalents and short-term investments are financial instruments that potentially subject us to concentrations of credit risk. We deposit our cash in financial institutions. At times, such deposits

may

be in excess of insured limits. We

may

also invest our excess cash in money market funds, U.S. government agencies, corporate debt securities and commercial paper. We have established guidelines relative to our diversification of our cash investments and their maturities in an effort to maintain safety and liquidity. These guidelines are periodically reviewed and modified to take advantage of trends in yields and interest rates.

Sales

of SUSTOL to

two

customers accounted for

10%

or more of our net product sales for the year ended

December

31,

2017.

The loss of either of these customers could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Inventory

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or estimated

net realizable value on a

first

-in,

first

-out, or FIFO, basis. We periodically analyze our inventory levels and write down inventory that has become obsolete, inventory that has a cost basis in excess of its estimated realizable value and inventory quantities that are in excess of expected sales requirements as cost of product sales. The determination of whether inventory costs will be realizable requires estimates by management. If actual market conditions are less favorable than projected by management, additional write-downs of inventory

may

be required, which would be recorded as cost of product sales.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is calculated on a

straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets (generally

five

years). Leasehold improvements are stated at cost and amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the asset or the lease term.

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

If indicators of impairment exist,

we assess the recoverability of the affected long-lived assets by determining whether the carrying value of such assets can be recovered through undiscounted future operating cash flows. If impairment is indicated, we measure the amount of such impairment by comparing the carrying value of the asset to the fair value of the asset and record the impairment as a reduction in the carrying value of the related asset with a corresponding charge to operating expenses. Estimating the undiscounted future operating cash flows associated with long-lived assets requires judgment and assumptions that could differ materially from actual results.

Revenue Recognition

Product Sales

SUSTOL is distributed

in the U.S. through a limited number of specialty distributors (“Customers”) that resell SUSTOL to healthcare providers, the end users of SUSTOL. Product sales are recorded net of sales allowances and estimated rebates, chargebacks, distributor fees and other deductions.

Product sales are recognized as revenue when there is persuasive evidence that an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred and title has passed, the price is fixed or determinable and we are reasonably assured of collecting the resulting

receivable. Product sales are recorded net of sales allowances and estimated rebates, chargebacks, distributor fees and other deductions. At this point in the SUSTOL commercial launch, we do

not

yet have sufficient historical data regarding the

third

-party payor mix and resulting rebates related to shipments of SUSTOL to our Customers. In addition, we do

not

currently have the data necessary to provide sufficient visibility into the ultimate utilization of SUSTOL, which inhibits our ability to determine a reasonable estimate of potential returns. As a result, we are

not

yet able to make reliable estimates necessary to meet certain of the key recognition criteria to recognize product sales as revenue with respect to shipments of SUSTOL to our Customers. Accordingly, revenue related to shipments to our Customers is deferred, except to the extent that our Customers have resold SUSTOL to healthcare providers (sell-through approach). As of

December 31, 2017,

product sales of

$2.8

million to our Customers have been deferred and are recorded as deferred revenue on our consolidated balance sheet.

Product Sales Allowances

We recognize product sales allowances as a reduction of product sales in the same period the related revenue i

s recognized. Product sales allowances are based on amounts owed or to be claimed on the related sales. These estimates take into consideration the terms of our agreements with Customers, historical product returns, rebates or discounts taken, the shelf life of the product and specific known market events, such as competitive pricing and new product introductions. If actual future results vary from our estimates, we

may

need to adjust these estimates, which could have an effect on product sales and earnings in the period of adjustment. Our product sales allowances include:

●

Product Returns — We allow our Customers to return product for credit

months after its product expiration date. As such, there

may

be a significant period of time between the time the product is shipped and the time the credit is issued on returned product.

●

Distributor Fees — We offer contractually determined discounts to our Customers. These discounts are paid on a quarterly basis within

two

months after the quarter in which product was shipped.

●

Group Purchasing Organization (“GPO”) Discounts and Rebates — We offer cash discounts to GPO members. These discounts are taken when the GPO members purchase SUSTOL from our Customers, who then charge back to us the discount amount. Additionally, we offer volume and contract-tier rebates to GPO members. Rebates are based on actual purchase levels during the quarterly rebate purchase period.

●

GPO Administrative Fees — We pay administrative fees to GPOs for services and access to data. These fees are based on contracted terms and are paid after the quarter in which the product was purchased by the GPOs’ members.

●

Medicaid Rebates — We participate in Medicaid rebate programs, which provide assistance to certain low-income patients based on each individual state’s guidelines regarding eligibility and services. Under the Medicaid rebate programs, we pay a rebate to each participating state, generally within

three

months after the quarter in which SUSTOL was sold.

We believe our estimated allowance for product returns requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to change based on our experience and certain quant

itative and qualitative factors. We believe our estimated allowances for distributor fees, GPO discounts, rebates and administrative fees and Medicaid rebates do

not

require a high degree of judgment because the amounts are settled within a relatively short period of time.

Our product sales allowances and related accruals are evaluated each reporting period and adjusted when trends or significant events indicate that a change in estimate is appropriate. Changes in sales allowance estimates could materiall

y affect our results of operations and financial position.

The following

table provides a summary of activity with respect to our product returns, distributor fees and GPO fees, rebates and chargebacks for the year ended

December 31, 2017,

which are included in other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets (in thousands):

	Product Returns			Distributor Fees			GPO Fees, Rebates and Chargebacks			Total

Balance at December 31, 2016	$	49		$	72		$	221		$	342
Provision		473			2,027			16,752			19,252
Payments/credits		(1	)		(1,519	)		(8,755	)		(10,275	)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	521		$	580		$	8,218		$	9,319

Accrued Clinical Liabilities

We accrue

clinical costs based on work performed, which relies on estimates of the progress of the trials and the related expenses incurred. Clinical trial related contracts vary significantly in duration, and

may

be for a fixed amount, based on the achievement of certain contingent events or deliverables, a variable amount based on actual costs incurred, capped at a certain limit or contain a combination of these elements. Revisions are recorded to research and development expense in the period in which the facts that give rise to the revision become known. Historically, revisions have

not

resulted in material changes to research and development expense; however, a modification in the protocol of a clinical trial or cancellation of a clinical trial could result in a material charge to our results of operations.

Research and Development Expense

All costs of research and development are expensed in the period incurred. Research and development

expense primarily consist of personnel and related costs, stock-based compensation expense, fees paid to outside service providers and consultants, facilities costs and materials used in clinical and preclinical trials and research and development.

Patent Costs

We incur

outside legal fees in connection with filing and maintaining our various patent applications. All patent costs are expensed as incurred and are included in general and administrative expense in the consolidated statements of operations and comprehensive loss.

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We estimate

the fair value of stock-based payment awards using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. This fair value is then amortized using the straight-line single-option method of attributing the value of stock-based compensation to expense over the requisite service periods of the awards. The Black-Scholes option pricing model requires the input of complex and subjective assumptions, including each option’s expected life and price volatility of the underlying stock.

As stock-based compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced for estimated forfeitures. F

orfeitures are estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Forfeitures are estimated based on historical data.

Warrants

We have issued warrants to purchase shares of our common stock in conjunction with certain equity

financings or in exchange for services. The terms of the warrants were evaluated to determine the appropriate classification as equity or a liability.

Income Taxes

recognize the impact of a tax position in our consolidated financial statements if the position is more likely than

not

to be sustained on examination and on the technical merits of the position. The total amount of unrecognized tax benefits, if recognized, would affect other tax accounts, primarily deferred taxes in future periods, and would

not

affect our effective tax rate, since we maintain a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets (see Note

We recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

Comprehensive

Loss

Comprehensive loss

is defined as the change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources.

Unrealized gains and losses on available-for-sale securities are included in other comprehensive loss and represent the difference between our net loss and comprehensive net loss for all periods presented.

Net Loss

per Share

Basic

net loss per share is calculated by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period, without consideration of common share equivalents. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing the net loss by the weighted-average number of common shares and common stock equivalents outstanding for the period determined using the treasury stock method. For purposes of this calculation, stock options, warrants and shares of common stock underlying Convertible Notes are considered to be common stock equivalents and are included in the calculation of diluted net loss per share only when their effect is dilutive.

Because we have incurred a net loss for all periods presented in the consolidated statements of

operations and comprehensive loss, stock options, warrants and shares of common stock underlying Convertible Notes are

not

included in the computation of net loss per share because their effect would be anti-dilutive. The following table includes the number of stock options, warrants and shares of common stock underlying Convertible Notes

not

included in the computation as of the dates shown below (in thousands):

	December 31 ,
	2017		2016		2015

Stock options outstanding		13,463		11,845		8,435
Warrants outstanding		620		600		3,565
Shares of c ommon stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding		7,983		7,521		7,087

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted

March 2016

, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)

No.

2016

09,

Compensation – Stock Compensation: Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting

(“ASU

2016

09”

). ASU

2016

addresses several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment award transactions, including: (a) income tax consequences; (b) classification of awards as either equity or liabilities; (c) classification on the statement of cash flows; and (d) accounting for forfeitures. We adopted the provisions of ASU

2016

in the

first

quarter of

2017.

We have elected to continue to estimate forfeitures based on the estimated number of awards expected to vest. In addition, the adoption of ASU

2016

resulted in the recognition of

$3.6

million of previously unrecognized excess tax benefits in deferred tax assets, fully offset by a valuation allowance. All tax-related cash flows resulting from stock-based compensation, including the excess tax benefits related to the settlement of stock-based payment awards, are now classified as cash flows from operating activities on our consolidated statements of cash flows. The adoption of ASU

2016

did

not

have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

July 2015,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2015

11,

Inventory (Topic

330

)

(“ASU

2015

11”

). ASU

2015

requires entities to measure inventory at the lower of cost or net realizable value. Net realizable value is the estimated selling price in the ordinary course of business, less reasonably predictable costs of completion, disposal and transportation. Subsequent measurements are unchanged for inventory measured using last-in-

first

-out or the retail inventory method. We adopted the provisions of ASU

2015

in the

first

quarter of

2017.

The adoption did

not

have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

Not

Yet Adopted

May 2017,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2017

09,

Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic

718

): Scope of Modification Accounting

(“ASU

2017

09”

The amendments in ASU

2017

provide guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a stock-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Topic

718.

The amendments in ASU

2017

are effective for all entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after

December

15,

2017.

Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in any interim period, for (

) public business entities for reporting periods for which financial statements have

not

yet been issued and (

) all other entities for reporting periods for which financial statements have

not

yet been made available for issuance. We plan to adopt the provisions of ASU

2017

in the

first

quarter of

2018.

We do

not

expect the adoption of ASU

2017

to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

February 2016,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

02,

Leases

(“ASU

2016

02”

). ASU

2016

requires a lessee to record on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by leases with lease terms of more than

months. In addition, ASU

2016

requires both lessees and lessors to disclose certain key information about lease transactions. ASU

2016

is effective for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2018,

including interim periods within those fiscal years. We plan to adopt the provisions of ASU

2016

in the

first

quarter of

2019,

and we are currently evaluating the impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

May 2014,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2014

09,

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606

)

(“ASU

2014

09”

). ASU

2014

is based on the principle that revenue should be recognized to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. ASU

2014

is effective for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those fiscal years. The provisions of ASU

2014

allow for either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective adoption approach.

Under the provisions of ASU

2014

09,

we expect the timing of revenue recognition from sales to our Customers to be accelerated. We will recognize revenue at the time of sale to our Customers, net of product sales allowances, which includes product returns. We will adopt ASU

2014

using the modified retrospective approach. Under this approach, incremental disclosures will be provided to present each financial statement line item for

2018

under the prior standard. We are substantially complete with our evaluation of the effect that the adoption of ASU

2014

will have on our consolidated financial statements, and we expect to record a cumulative adjustment to retained earnings of

$1.9

million on

January 1, 2018.

This adjustment reflects the acceleration of

$2.9

million in gross product sales less

$1.0

million in product sales allowances.

Note 3 - Fair Value Measurements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Fair Value Disclosures [Text Block]

3.	Fair Value Measurements

Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants

on the measurement date. Valuation techniques used to measure fair value must maximize the use of observable inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. The fair value hierarchy based on

three

levels of inputs, of which the

first

two

are considered observable and the last unobservable, that

may

be used to measure fair value is as follows:

•

Level

— Observable inputs such as quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities.

•

Level

— Inputs other than Level

that are observable, either directly or indirectly, such as quoted prices for similar assets or liabilities; quoted prices in markets that are

not

active; or other inputs that are observable or can be corroborated by observable market data for substantially the full term of the assets or liabilities.

•

Level

— Unobservable inputs that are supported by little or

market activity and that are significant to the fair value of the assets or liabilities.

measure the following financial assets at fair value on a recurring basis. The fair values of these financial assets were as follows (in thousands):

			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Balance at December 31 , 2017		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Money market funds	$	91,386	$	91,386	$	—	$	—
U.S. corporate debt securities		17,520		—		17,520		—
U.S. commercial paper		39,863		—		39,863		—
Foreign commercial paper		19,854		—		19,854		—
Total	$	168,623	$	91,386	$	77,237	$	—

			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Balance at December 31 , 2016		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Money market funds	$	11,493	$	11,493	$	—	$	—
U.S. corporate debt securities		12,039		—		12,039		—
Foreign corporate debt securities		14,057		—		14,057		—
U.S. commercial paper		8,635		—		8,635		—
Foreign commercial paper		2,993		—		2,993		—
Total	$	49,217	$	11,493	$	37,724	$	—

There were

significant transfers between

Level

and

investments during the years ended

December 31, 2017

and

December 31, 2016.

As of

December 31, 2017,

cash equivalents included

$49.4

million of available-for-sale securities with contractual maturities of

three

months or less, and short-term investments included

$27.8

million of available-for-sale securities with contractual maturities of

three

months to

one

year. As of

December 31, 2016,

we had short-term investments consisting of

$37.7

million of available-for-sale securities with contractual maturities of

three

months to

one

year. The money market funds as of

December 31, 2017

and

2016

are included in cash and cash equivalents on the consolidated balance sheets.

Unrealized gains and losses

associated with our investments are reported in accumulated other comprehensive loss. For the years ended

December 31, 2017

and

2016,

we recorded

$7,000

and

$23,000,

respectively, in net unrealized gains associated with our short-term investments. For the year ended

December 31, 2015,

we recorded

$40,000

in net unrealized losses associated with our short-term investments.

Realized gains and losses associated with our investments, if any, are reported in

the statements of operations and comprehensive loss. There were

realized gains or losses for the years ended

December 31, 2017,

2016

and

2015.

- Definition

The entire disclosure for the fair value of financial instruments (as defined), including financial assets and financial liabilities (collectively, as defined), and the measurements of those instruments as well as disclosures related to the fair value of non-financial assets and liabilities. Such disclosures about the financial instruments, assets, and liabilities would include: (1) the fair value of the required items together with their carrying amounts (as appropriate); (2) for items for which it is not practicable to estimate fair value, disclosure would include: (a) information pertinent to estimating fair value (including, carrying amount, effective interest rate, and maturity, and (b) the reasons why it is not practicable to estimate fair value; (3) significant concentrations of credit risk including: (a) information about the activity, region, or economic characteristics identifying a concentration, (b) the maximum amount of loss the entity is exposed to based on the gross fair value of the related item, (c) policy for requiring collateral or other security and information as to accessing such collateral or security, and (d) the nature and brief description of such collateral or security; (4) quantitative information about market risks and how such risks are managed; (5) for items measured on both a recurring and nonrecurring basis information regarding the inputs used to develop the fair value measurement; and (6) for items presented in the financial statement for which fair value measurement is elected: (a) information necessary to understand the reasons for the election, (b) discussion of the effect of fair value changes on earnings, (c) a description of [similar groups] items for which the election is made and the relation thereof to the balance sheet, the aggregate carrying value of items included in the balance sheet that are not eligible for the election; (7) all other required (as defined) and desired information.

+ References + Details

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Supplemental Balance Sheet Disclosures [Text Block]

4.	Balance Sheet Details

Short-Term

Investments

The following is a summary of

our short-term investments (in thousands):

	December 31, 201 7
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Estimated Fair Value
U.S. corporate debt securities	$	13,003	$	—	$	(10	)	$	12,993
U.S. commercial paper		4,929		—		—			4,929
Foreign commercial paper		9,874		—		—			9,874
Total	$	27,806	$	—	$	(10	)	$	27,796

	December 31, 201 6
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Estimated Fair Value
U.S. corporate debt securities	$	12,048	$	—	$	(9	)	$	12,039
Foreign corporate debt		14,065		—		(8	)		14,057
U.S. commercial paper		8,635		—		—			8,635
Foreign commercial paper		2,993		—		—			2,993
Total	$	37,741	$	—	$	(17	)	$	37,724

The amortized cost of debt securities is adjusted for amortization of premiums and accretion of discounts to maturity.

We regularly monitor and evaluate the realizable value of our marketable securities. We did

not

recognize any impairment losses for the years ended

December 31, 2017

and

2016.

Inventory

Inventory consists of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017		2016
Raw materials	$	2,754	$	1,647
Work in process		4,166		1,104
Finished goods		3,188		2,589
Total inventory	$	10,108	$	5,340

As of

December 31, 2017,

total inventory include

$7.1

million related to SUSTOL and

$3.0

million related to CINVANTI. As of

December 31, 2016,

total inventory included

$5.3

million related to SUSTOL.

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment

, net consists of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Scientific equipment	$	9,742		$	7,952
Leasehold improvements		1,654			1,635
Computer equipment and software		1,420			1,429
Furniture, fixtures and office equipment		1,024			674
Property and equipment , gross		13,840			11,690
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(7,859	)		(6,614	)
Property and equipment, net	$	5,981		$	5,076

Depreciation and amortization expense for the years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015

was

$1.5

million,

$1.1

million and

$0.7

million, respectively. As of

December 31, 2017

and

2016,

$2.0

million and

$1.7

million of property and equipment, respectively, was in process and

not

depreciated during the respective years.

Accrued Payroll and Employee Liabilities and Other Accrued

Liabilities

Accrued payroll and employee liabilities

consist of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	20 17		2016
Accrued employee salaries and benefits	$	2,730	$	2,236
Accrued bonuses		5,044		3,474
Accrued expenses for realignment (see Note 6)		1,086		2,704
Total accrued payroll and employee liabilities	$	8,860	$	8,414

Other accrued

liabilities consist of the following (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017		2016
Accrued consulting and professional fees	$	6,869	$	4,703
Accrued accounts payable		148		1,039
Accrued product sales allowances		9,319		342
Deferred rent		651		116
Other accrued liabilities		188		88
Total other accrued liabilities	$	17,175	$	6,288

Note 5 - Commitments and Contingencies

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Text Block]

5.	Commitments and Contingencies

Leases

We lease

28,275

square feet of laboratory and office space in San Diego, California under a lease which began on

December 1, 2016

and expires on

April 15, 2024.

We have

one

-year option to renew this lease.

We also lease

26,067

square feet of laboratory, office and warehouse space in Redwood City, California and

1,898

square feet of office space in Jersey City, New Jersey. The lease for the Redwood City space expires on

May 31, 2019.

The lease for the Jersey City office space expires on

June 30, 2018.

We believe our facilities are adequate and suitable for our current needs and that we will be able to obtain new or additional leased space in the future when necessary. We also lease certain office equipment under operating lease arrangements.

Annual future minimum lease payments as of

December

31,

2017

are as follows (in thousands):

Year ended December 31:
2018	$	2,418
2019		1,906
2020		1,503
2021		1,546
2022		1,590
Thereafter		2,124
Total future minimum lease payments	$	11,087

Rent expense under all operating leases totaled

$3.1

million,

$2.1

million and

$1.5

million for the years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015,

respectively.

Clinical Development Agreements

have entered into agreements with various vendors for the research and development of product candidates, which are generally cancellable anytime at our option. Under the terms of these agreements, the vendors provide a variety of services including conducting preclinical development, conducting research, manufacturing clinical compounds, enrolling and recruiting patients, monitoring studies, data analysis and regulatory filing assistance. Payments under these agreements typically include fees for services and reimbursement of expenses. In addition, under certain agreements, we are subject to penalties in the event we permanently discontinue performance under these agreements.

Purchase Obligations

December

31,

2017,

our purchase obligations of

$39.7

million primarily consisted of commitments with

third

-party manufacturers in connection with the manufacturing of SUSTOL and CINVANTI, as well as commitments with various vendors for sales and marketing support and clinical and preclinical studies. For the year ended

December 31, 2017,

$35.9

million of the total purchase obligations were

not

included in our consolidated financial statements. We intend to use our current financial resources to fund our commitments under these purchase obligations.

Note 6 - Realignment of Goals and Objectives and New Development Focus

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Restructuring and Related Activities Disclosure [Text Block]

6.	Realignment of Goals and Objectives and New Development Focus

Following the approval of SUSTOL and consistent with our transition into a commercial-stage biotechnology company, we realigned our goals and objectives and refocused our development efforts t

o the area of postoperative pain management. On

October 18, 2016,

we entered into a lease agreement for new office and laboratory space in San Diego, California, which became our corporate headquarters in

December 2016.

September 30, 2016,

the board of directors accepted the resignations of

three

executive officers, and these executive officers and other employees directly affected by the realignment and refocusing were, or will be, provided with

one

-time severance payments on termination, continued benefits for a specified period of time and outplacement assistance.

We expect to incur total expenses of

$9.

million in connection with these activities,

$5.7

million of which is primarily for severance and

$3.9

million of which is for non-cash, stock-based compensation expense. From

September 30, 2016

through

December 31, 2017,

we have recognized expense of

$9.6

million.

We expect to make the final payment resulting from the realignment of our goals and objectives and new development focus in the

third

quarter of

2018.

As of

December 31, 2017,

we have paid

$4.6

million of the total

$5.7

million cash charges. As of

December 31, 2017,

the remaining

$1.1

million was included in accrued payroll and employee liabilities in the consolidated balance sheets.

or the year ended

December 31, 2017,

total expenses related to the realignment were

$1.8

million, with

$1.5

million included in research and development expense and

$0.3

million in general and administrative expense.

We have accounted for these expenses in accordance with Accounting Standard Codification

No.

420,

Exit or Disposal Cost Obligations

Note 7 - Secured Notes to Related Party

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Debt Disclosure [Text Block]

7 .	Secured Notes to Related Party

Convertible Notes

April 2011,

we entered into a securities purchase agreement for a private placement of up to

$4.5

million in Convertible Notes with certain investors, including Tang Capital Partners, LP (“TCP”). TCP is controlled by Tang Capital Management, LLC (“TCM”). The manager of TCM is Kevin C. Tang, who served as a director at the time and currently serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. The terms of the Convertible Notes were determined by our independent directors to be

less favorable than terms that would be obtained in an arm’s length financing transaction. We received a total of

$4.3

million, net of issuance costs, from the issuance of these Convertible Notes.

The Convertible Notes are secured by substantially all of our assets, including placing our bank and investment accounts under a control agreement. The Convertible Notes bear interest at

per annum, payable quarterly in cash or in additional principal amount of Convertible Notes, at the election of the purchasers. The Convertible Notes mature on

May 2, 2021;

however, the holders of the Convertible Notes

may

require prepayment of the Convertible Notes at any time, at each holder’s option.

The Convertible Notes are convertible into shares of our common stock at a rate of

1,250

shares for every

$1,000

of outstanding principal due under the Convertible Notes. There is

right to convert th

e Convertible Notes to the extent that, after giving effect to such conversion, the holder would beneficially own in excess of

9.99%

of our outstanding common stock. Each holder of the Convertible Notes can increase or decrease this beneficial ownership conversion limit by written notice to us, which will

not

be effective until

days after delivery of the notice.

As of

December 31, 2017,

we were in compliance with all covenants under the Convertible Notes. On the occurrence of an event of default under the Convertible Notes, the holders of the Convertible Notes have the right to require us to redeem all or a portion of their Convertible Notes.

2011,

we filed a registration statement with the

SEC to register for resale

3.5

million shares underlying the Convertible Notes. The registration statement was declared effective on

July

29,

2011.

The Convertible Note holders have agreed to waive their right to require us to maintain the effectiveness of the registration statement and to register the additional shares underlying the Convertible Notes until they provide notice otherwise.

The Convertible Notes contain an embedded conversion feature that was in-the-money on the issuance dates. Based on an effective fixed conversion rate of

1,250

shares for every

$1,

000

of principal and accrued interest due under the Convertible Notes, the total conversion benefit at issuance exceeded the loan proceeds. Therefore, a debt discount was recorded in an amount equal to the face value of the Convertible Notes on the issuance dates, and we began amortizing the resultant debt discount over the respective

-year term of the Convertible Notes. During the year ended

December 31, 2017,

accrued interest of

$0.4

million was paid-in-kind and rolled into the Convertible Note principal balance, which resulted in an additional debt discount of

$0.4

million. For the years ended

December 31, 2017,

2016

and

2015,

interest expense relating to the stated rate was

$0.4

million,

$0.4

million and

$0.3

million, respectively, and interest expense relating to the amortization of the debt discount was

$0.8

million,

$0.7

million and

$0.6

million, respectively.

As of

December 31, 2017,

the carrying value of the Convertible Notes was

$3.7

million, which is comprised of the

$6.4

million principal amount of the Convertible Notes outstanding, less debt discount of

$2.7

million. If the

$6.4

million principal amount of Convertible Notes is converted, we would issue

8.0

million shares of our common stock.

Promissory Note

August 2016,

we entered into the Promissory Note with TCP whereby TCP agreed to lend us up to

$100.0

million. The Promissory Note has a

two

-year term and bears interest of

per annum. The

first

close of

$50.0

million occurred on

August 5, 2016.

The s

econd close of an additional

$50.0

million was

not

drawn and has expired. There are

fees,

warrants and

equity conversion features associated with this transaction. The Promissory Note is secured by a

second

-priority lien on substantially all of our assets. TCP is controlled by TCM. The manager of TCM is Kevin C. Tang, who serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. The terms of the Promissory Note were determined by our independent directors to be

less favorable than terms that would be obtained in an arm’s length financing transaction.

For the year ended

December 31, 2017,

interest expense was

$2.8

million compared to

$1.6

million for the year ended

December 31, 2016.

As of

December 31, 2017,

the outstanding principal amount of the Promissory Note was

$25.0

million.

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Stockholders' Equity Note Disclosure [Text Block]

8.	Stockholders’ Equity

2015

Common Stock

Offering

June 2015,

we sold

5.5

million shares of our common stock at a public offering price of

$24.75

per share. We received total net proceeds of

$128.2

million (net of

$8.4

million in issuance costs) from the sale of the common stock.

201

Common Stock Offering

January 2017,

we sold

14.1

million shares of our common stock at a public offering price of

$12.20

per share. We received total net proceeds of

$163.7

million (net of

$8.8

million in issuance costs) from the sale of the common stock.

December 2017,

we sold

9.7

million shares of our common stock at a public offering price of

$15.50

per share. We received total net proceeds of

$142.6

million (net of

$7.4

million in issuance costs) from the sale of the common stock.

Private Placement

Warrants

June 2011,

we sold shares of common stock and warrants to purchase common stock in a private placement. A total of

4,000,000

warrants to purchase common stock at an exercise price of

$3.60

per share were issued as part of this private placement. As of

December 31, 2016,

all warrants from the

June 2011

Private Placement have been exercised.

During

the year ended

December 31, 2016,

warrant holders exercised

2,965,477

warrants under the cashless exercise provision in each such holder’s warrant, which resulted in the net issuance of

2,395,700

shares of common stock and

net cash proceeds to us. During the year ended

December 31, 2015,

warrant holders exercised

343,813

warrants under the cashless exercise provision in each such holder’s warrant, which resulted in the net issuance of

285,713

shares of common stock and

net cash proceeds to us.

Public Offering Warrants

June 2014,

as a component of our public offering, we sold

600,000

pre-funded warrants to purchase shares of our common stock. The pre-funded warrants have an exercise price of

$0.01

per share and expire on

June 30, 2021.

During the year ended

December 31, 2017,

warrant holders exercised

4,426

warrants under the cashless exercise provision in each such holder’s warrant, which resulted in the net issuance of

4,423

shares of common stock and

net cash proceeds to us. As of

December 31, 2017,

595,574

warrants from the

June 2014

public offering remain outstanding.

Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance

Shares of

our common stock reserved for future issuance as of

December

31,

2017

were as follows:

	Number of Shares
Stock options outstanding		13,462,963
Stock options available for grant		4,685,432
Employee stock purchase plan		267,317
Warrants outstanding		620,164
Shares of c ommon stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding (see Note 7)		7,982,957
Total shares reserved for future issuance		27,018,833

Employee Stock Purchase Plan

1997

, our stockholders approved our Employee Stock Purchase Plan (“ESPP”). In

December 2007,

May 2009,

June 2011,

May 2014,

May 2015,

June 2016

and

June 2017,

our stockholders authorized increases in the number of shares reserved for issuance under the ESPP by

5,000,

10,000,

25,000,

100,000,

100,000

and

200,000

shares, respectively, for a total of

475,000

shares reserved at

December 31, 2017.

Under the terms of the ESPP, employees can elect to have up to a maximum of

10%

of their base earnings withheld to purchase our common stock. The purchase price of the stock is

85%

of the lower of the closing prices for our common stock on: (i) the

first

trading day in the enrollment period, as defined in the ESPP, in which the purchase is made, or (ii) the purchase date. The length of the enrollment period is

six

months. Enrollment dates are the

first

business day of

May

and

November.

2017,

48%

of eligible employees participated in the ESPP. Under the ESPP, we issued

77,283,

54,932,

and

30,361

shares in

2017,

2016

and

2015,

respectively. The weighted-average exercise price per share of the purchase rights exercised during

2017,

2016

and

2015

was

$12.80,

$14.03

and

$8.46,

respectively. As of

December

31,

2017,

207,683

shares of common stock have been issued under the ESPP and

267,317

shares of common stock are available for future issuance.

Stock Option Plans

We currently have

one

stock option plan from which we can grant options and restricted stock

awards to employees, officers, directors and consultants. In

December 2007,

the stockholders approved our

2007

Equity Incentive Plan (

“2007

Plan”) at which time a maximum of

150,000

shares of common stock were available for grant. In

May 2010,

June 2011,

May 2014,

May 2015,

June 2016

and

June 2017,

our stockholders approved amendments to our

2007

Plan to increase the maximum number of shares of common stock available for grant by

100,000,

4,500,000,

1,750,000,

4,300,000,

3,000,000

and

5,000,000

shares of common stock, respectively, resulting in an aggregate of

18,800,000

shares of common stock authorized for issuance as of

December 31, 2017.

December 31, 2017,

there were

4,685,432

shares available for future grant under the

2007

Plan. Any shares that are issuable on exercise of options granted that expire, are cancelled or that we receive pursuant to a net exercise of options are available for future grant and issuance.

We also granted stock options and restricted stock awards unde

r the

2002

Stock Incentive Plan (

“2002

Plan”) in prior years. The remaining shares available to be granted under the

2002

Plan expired in

February 2012.

2014,

2013

and

2012,

we granted options to certain employees outside of our stockholder approved stock option plans. All options to purchase our common stock were granted with an exercise price that equals fair market value of the underlying common stock on the grant dates and expire

later than

ten

years from the date of grant. The options are exercisable in accordance with vesting schedules that generally provide for them to be fully vested and exercisable

four

years after the date of grant, provided, however, that we have also issued stock options awards that are subject to performance vesting requirements. All stock option grants issued outside of our stockholder approved plans have been registered on Form S-

with the SEC.

A summary

of our stock option activity and related data is as follows:

	Outstanding Options
	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Balance at December 31, 2014		7,918,004		$	8.69
Granted		2,134,505			28.95
Exercised		(1,042,343	)		9.15
Cancelled		(575,178	)		10.42
Balance at Decemb er 31, 2015		8,434,988			13.64
Granted		4,920,661			15.98
Exercised		(798,363	)		8.37
Cancelled		(711,910	)		22.43
Balance at Decemb er 31, 2016		11,845,376			14.44
Granted		4,300,621			16.17
Exercised		(1,350,605	)		8.49
Cancelled		(1,332,429	)		20.06
Balance at December 31, 2017		13,462,963			15.03

For the year ended

December

31,

2017,

options cancelled (included in the above table) consisted of

993,920

options forfeited with a weighted-average exercise price of

$17.77

and

338,509

options expired with a weighted-average exercise price of

$26.81.

As of

December

31,

2017,

options exercisable have a weighted-average remaining contractual term of

6.5

years. The total intrinsic value of stock option exercises, which is the difference between the exercise price and closing price of our common stock on the date of exercise, during the years ended

December

31,

2017

and

2016

was

$9.9

million and

$10.4

million, respectively. As of

December

31,

2017

and

2016,

the total intrinsic value of options outstanding and exercisable was

35.6

million and

16.9

million, respectively.

	Years Ended December 31,
	2017				2016				2015
	Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Exercisable at end of year		5,446,586	$	13.25		4,356,665	$	11.66		2,587,392	$	8.72
Options vested or expected to vest		12,854,571	$	14.98		11,234,529	$	14.32		8,059,481	$	13.38

Exercise prices and weighted-average remaining contractual lives for the options outstanding as of

December

31,

2017

were:

										Weighted-
				Weighted-						Average
				Average		Weighted-				Exercise
				Remaining		Average				Price of
Options	Range of			Contractual		Exercise		Options		Options
Outstanding	Exercise Prices			Life (in years)		Price		Exercisable		Exercisable
34,906		$5.20			3.04	$	5.20		34,906	$	5.20
1,962,586	$6.60	–	$7.20		5.30		7.19		1,587,586		7.18
1,894,556	$ 8.80	–	$12.90		6.23		9.55		1,610,345		9.54
1,895,717		$13.00			8.88		13.00		532,872		13.00
1,900,182	$13.05	–	$16.30		8.90		14.95		278,933		15.12
1,029,700	$16.35	–	$16.90		8.65		16.81		342,983		16.82
4,745,316	$17.00	–	$38.46		9.02		21.00		1,058,961		26.73
13,462,963	$ 5.20	–	$38.46		8.01		15.03		5,446,586		13.25

December

31,

2017,

we had reserved

13,462,963

shares of common stock for future issuance on exercise of outstanding options granted under the

2007

Plan, as well as the non-plan grants.

Valuation and Expense Information

The following table

summarizes stock-based compensation expense related to stock-based payment awards granted pursuant to all of our equity compensation arrangements for the years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015

(in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Research and development	$	11,312	$	11,316	$	4,701
General and administrative		9,469		7,402		6,282
Sales and marketing		9,757		7,238		3,377
Total s tock-based compensation expense	$	30,538	$	25,956	$	14,360

As of

December

31,

2017,

there was

$88.2

million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to non-vested, stock-based payment awards granted under all of our equity compensation plans and all non-plan option grants. Total unrecognized compensation cost will be adjusted for future changes in estimated forfeitures. We expect to recognize this compensation cost over a weighted-average period of

3.0

years.

For t

he years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015,

we estimated the fair value of each option grant and ESPP purchase right on the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following weighted-average assumptions:

Options:

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Risk-free interest rate		2.1	%		1.7	%		1.7	%
Dividend yield		—	%		—	%		—	%
Volatility		74.0	%		89.1	%		92.7	%
Expected life (years)		6			6			6

ESPP:

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Risk-free interest rate		1.2	%		0.4	%		0.1	%
Dividend yield		—	%		—	%		—	%
Volatility		50.0	%		68.3	%		86.7	%
Expecte d life (months)		6			6			6

The weighted-average fair value

of options granted was

$10.61,

$11.82

and

$21.92

for the years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015,

respectively.

The weighted-average

fair value of shares purchased through the ESPP was

$4.51,

$6.10

and

$8.23

for the years ended

December

31,

2017,

2016

and

2015,

respectively.

The risk-free interest rate assumption is based on observed interest rates on

U.S. Treasury debt securities with maturities close to the expected term of our employee and director stock options and ESPP purchases.

The dividend yield assumption is based on

our history and expectation of dividend payouts. We have never paid dividends on our common stock, and we do

not

anticipate paying dividends in the foreseeable future.

We used our

historical stock price to estimate volatility.

The expected life of employee and director stock options represents the average of the contractual term of the options and the weighted-average vesting period, as permitted under the simplified method.

We have elected to use the simplified method, as we do

not

have enough historical exercise experience to provide a reasonable basis on which to estimate the expected term. The expected life for the ESPP purchase rights is

six

months, which represents the length of each purchase period.

Note 9 - Income Taxes

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Income Tax Disclosure [Text Block]

9 .	Income Taxes

For

the years ended

December 31, 2017,

2016

and

2015,

we did

not

record a provision for income taxes

due to a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets

The difference between the provision for income taxes and income taxes computed using the effective U.S. federal statutory rate is as follows (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Tax at statutory federal rate	$	( 67,145	)	$	( 58,868	)	$	( 33,181	)
State tax, net of federal benefit		( 6,203	)		2,013			( 5,753	)
Research and development credits		( 5,962	)		( 4,206	)		( 2,757	)
Stock-based compensation expense		3,151			2,694			894
Non-deductible compensation		—			1,864			—
Change in valuation allowance		3,241			55,173			40,445
Impact of the 2017 Tax Act		74,361			—			—
Other		( 1,443	)		1,330			352
Provision for income taxes	$	—		$	—		$	—

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities arising from differences between accounting for fina

ncial statement purposes and tax purposes, less valuation allowance at year-end are as follows (in thousands):

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforward	$	134,659		$	138,727
Research and development credits		25,919			16,687
Stock-based compensation		8,633			10,272
Other		2,920			3,204
Total gross deferred tax assets		172,131			168,890
Valuation allowance		(172,131	)		(168,890	)
Net deferred tax assets	$	—		$	—

We have established a valuation allowance to offset net deferred tax assets as of

December 31, 2017

and

2016

due to the uncertainty of realiz

ing future tax benefits from such assets.

As of

December 31, 2017,

we had federal and state net operating loss (“NOL”) carryforwards of

$557.9

million and

$300.6

million, respectively, expiring beginning in

2018.

As of

December 31, 2017,

we had federal and California state research and development credit carryforwards of

$17.6

million and

$10.5

million, respectively. The federal research and development credit carryforwards will begin to expire in

2022.

The California state credits can be carried forward indefinitely.

Internal Revenue Code (“IRC”) Section

382

and

383

places a limitation on the amount of taxable income that can be offset by NOL and credit carryforwards after a change in control (generally greater than

50%

change in ownership within a

three

-year period) of a loss corporation. California has similar rules. Generally, after a change in control, a loss corporation cannot deduct NOL and credit carryforwards in excess of the IRC Section

382

and

383

limitation. We have performed an IRC Section

382

and

383

analysis and determined there were ownership changes in

2007,

2011,

and

2013.

We are currently in the process of completing the IRC Section

382

and

383

analysis for

2017.

The limitation in the federal and state carryforwards associated with the NOL and credit carryforwards reduce the deferred tax assets, which are further offset by a full valuation allowance. The limitation can result in the expiration of the NOLs and credit carryforwards available as of

December 31, 2017.

We file U.S. and state income tax returns with varying statutes of limitations. The tax years from

1998

2017

remain open to examination due to th

e carryover of unused NOL carryforwards and tax credits.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (

“2017

Tax Act”) was enacted in

December 2017.

The

2017

Tax Act, among other things, reduces the U.S. federal corporate tax rate from

35%

21%,

effective

January 1, 2018,

requires companies to pay a

one

-time transition tax on earnings of certain foreign subsidiaries that were previously tax deferred and creates new taxes on certain foreign earnings. We revalued our deferred tax assets as of

December 31, 2017

based on a U.S. federal tax rate of

21%,

which resulted in a reduction to our deferred tax assets of

$74.3

million fully offset by a reduction to the valuation allowance. We are

not

required to pay a

one

-time transition tax on earnings of our foreign subsidiary as the foreign subsidiary has an accumulated deficit.

As of

December 31, 2017

and

2016,

we had

accrued interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions.

As of both

December 31, 2017

and

2016,

we had unrecognized tax benefits of

$0.1

million

. We do

not

expect any material changes to the estimated amount of liability associated with our uncertain tax positions within the next

months.

Note 10 - Employee Benefit Plan

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Pension and Other Postretirement Benefits Disclosure [Text Block]

10 .	Employee Benefit Plan

We have a defined contribution

401

(k) plan (“Plan”) covering substantially all of our employees. In the past

three

calendar years, we made matching cash contributions equal to

50%

of each participant’s contribution during the Plan year up to a maximum amount equal to the lesser of

of each participant’s annual compensation or

$8,100,

$7,950

and

$7,950

for the years ended

December 31, 2017,

2016

and

2015,

respectively. Such amounts were recorded as expense in the corresponding years. We

may

also contribute additional discretionary amounts to the Plan as we determine. For the years ended

December 31, 2017,

2016

and

2015,

we contributed

$0.6

million,

$0.6

million and

$0.3

million, respectively, to the Plan.

discretionary contributions have been made to the Plan since its inception.

Note 11 - Summary of Quarterly Consolidated Financial Data (Unaudited)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes to Financial Statements

Quarterly Financial Information [Text Block]

Summary of Quarterly

Consolidated

Financial Data (Unaudited)

The following is a summary of the unaudited quarterly results of operations for the years ended

December

31,

2017

and

2016:

	2017
	First Quarter			Second Quarter			Third Quarter			Fourth Quarter
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenue s:
Net product sales	$	3,632		$	8,510		$	8,572		$	10,053
Cost of product sales		(1,186	)		(1,013	)		(1,051	)		(1,338	)
Gross Profit		2,446			7,497			7,521			8,715
Operating expenses:
Research and development		33,384			28,597			28,844			47,757
General and administrative		6,742			6,185			6,462			6,165
Sales and marketing		11,619			14,770			13,529			16,683
Loss from operations		(49,299	)		(42,055	)		(41,314	)		(61,890	)
Other expense, net		(1,030	)		(744	)		(552	)		(600	)
Net loss	$	(50,329	)	$	(42,799	)	$	(41,866	)	$	(62,490	)
Basic and diluted net loss per share	$	(1.00	)	$	(0.80	)	$	(0.77	)	$	(1.09	)

	2016
	First Quarter			Second Quarter			Third Quarter			Fourth Quarter
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenues:
Net product sales	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	1,279
Cost of product sales		—			—			—			(35	)
Gross Profit		—			—			—			1,244
Operating e xpenses:
Research and development		16,092			27,286			30,242			29,505
General and administrative		5,367			4,774			5,333			5,892
Sales and marketing		11,853			11,006			12,159			12,650
Loss from operations		(33,312	)		(43,066	)		(47,734	)		(46,803	)
Other expense, net		(133	)		(160	)		(775	)		(1,160	)
Net loss	$	(33,445	)	$	(43,226	)	$	(48,509	)	$	(47,963	)
Basic and diluted net loss per share	$	(0.92	)	$	(1.17	)	$	(1.24	)	$	(1.22	)

Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Accounting Policies [Abstract]

Consolidation, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Principles of Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Heron Therapeutics, Inc. and its wholly owned subsidiary, Heron

Therapeutics, B.V., which was organized in the Netherlands in

March 2015.

Heron Therapeutics B.V. has

operations and

material assets or liabilities, and there have been

significant transactions related to Heron Therapeutics B.V. since its inception.

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the

Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short-Term Investments [Policy Text Block]

Cash,

Cash Equivalents

and Short-Term Investments

Cash and cash equivalents consist of cash and highly liquid investments with original maturities from purchase date of

three

months or less.

Short-term investments consist of securities with

contractual maturities of greater than

three

months to

one

Our bank and investment accounts have been placed under control agreements in accordance with our

Senior Secured Convertible Notes (“Convertible Notes”) and our Subordinated Secured Promissory Note (“

Promissory Note”) (see Note

Fair Value Measurement, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Fair Value of

Financial Instruments

A company

may

e firm commitments for financial instruments that otherwise would

not

be recognized at inception and non-cash warranty obligations where a warrantor is permitted to pay a

third

not

apply the fair value option to our financial assets and liabilities.

Financial instruments, including cash and cash equivalents, receivables,

Short-term available-for-sale investments are carried at fair value (see Note

)

. Our Convertible Notes and Promissory Note outstanding at

December

31,

2017

not

have a readily available ascertainable market value, however, the carrying value is considered to approximate its fair value.

Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Concentration of Credit Risk

Cash,

may

be in excess of insured limits. We

may

Sales

of SUSTOL to

two

customers accounted for

10%

or more of our net product sales for the year ended

December

31,

2017.

The loss of either of these customers could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and cash flows.

Inventory, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Inventory

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or estimated

net realizable value on a

first

-in,

first

may

be required, which would be recorded as cost of product sales.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Property and Equipment

Property and equipment is stated at cost less accumulated depreciation and amortization. Depreciation is calculated on a

straight-line basis over the estimated useful lives of the assets (generally

five

years). Leasehold improvements are stated at cost and amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the estimated useful life of the asset or the lease term.

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Including Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

If indicators of impairment exist,

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition

Product Sales

SUSTOL is distributed

receivable. Product sales are recorded net of sales allowances and estimated rebates, chargebacks, distributor fees and other deductions. At this point in the SUSTOL commercial launch, we do

not

yet have sufficient historical data regarding the

third

-party payor mix and resulting rebates related to shipments of SUSTOL to our Customers. In addition, we do

not

December 31, 2017,

product sales of

$2.8

million to our Customers have been deferred and are recorded as deferred revenue on our consolidated balance sheet.

Product Sales Allowances

We recognize product sales allowances as a reduction of product sales in the same period the related revenue i

may

need to adjust these estimates, which could have an effect on product sales and earnings in the period of adjustment. Our product sales allowances include:

●

Product Returns — We allow our Customers to return product for credit

months after its product expiration date. As such, there

may

be a significant period of time between the time the product is shipped and the time the credit is issued on returned product.

●

Distributor Fees — We offer contractually determined discounts to our Customers. These discounts are paid on a quarterly basis within

two

months after the quarter in which product was shipped.

●

three

months after the quarter in which SUSTOL was sold.

We believe our estimated allowance for product returns requires a high degree of judgment and is subject to change based on our experience and certain quant

itative and qualitative factors. We believe our estimated allowances for distributor fees, GPO discounts, rebates and administrative fees and Medicaid rebates do

not

require a high degree of judgment because the amounts are settled within a relatively short period of time.

y affect our results of operations and financial position.

The following

table provides a summary of activity with respect to our product returns, distributor fees and GPO fees, rebates and chargebacks for the year ended

December 31, 2017,

which are included in other accrued liabilities on the consolidated balance sheets (in thousands):

	Product Returns			Distributor Fees			GPO Fees, Rebates and Chargebacks			Total

Balance at December 31, 2016	$	49		$	72		$	221		$	342
Provision		473			2,027			16,752			19,252
Payments/credits		(1	)		(1,519	)		(8,755	)		(10,275	)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	521		$	580		$	8,218		$	9,319

Clinical Trial Accruals [Policy Text Block]

Accrued Clinical Liabilities

We accrue

clinical costs based on work performed, which relies on estimates of the progress of the trials and the related expenses incurred. Clinical trial related contracts vary significantly in duration, and

may

not

Research and Development Expense, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Research and Development Expense

All costs of research and development are expensed in the period incurred. Research and development

Legal Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Patent Costs

We incur

Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]

Stock-Based Compensation Expense

We estimate

As stock-based compensation expense is based on awards ultimately expected to vest, it has been reduced for estimated forfeitures. F

orfeitures are estimated at the time of grant and revised, if necessary, in subsequent periods if actual forfeitures differ from those estimates. Forfeitures are estimated based on historical data.

Warrants Issued in Equity Financings [Policy Text Block]

Warrants

We have issued warrants to purchase shares of our common stock in conjunction with certain equity

financings or in exchange for services. The terms of the warrants were evaluated to determine the appropriate classification as equity or a liability.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes

recognize the impact of a tax position in our consolidated financial statements if the position is more likely than

not

affect our effective tax rate, since we maintain a full valuation allowance against our deferred tax assets (see Note

We recognize interest and penalties related to income tax matters in income tax expense.

Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Comprehensive

Loss

Comprehensive loss

is defined as the change in equity during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Net Loss

per Share

Basic

Because we have incurred a net loss for all periods presented in the consolidated statements of

operations and comprehensive loss, stock options, warrants and shares of common stock underlying Convertible Notes are

not

included in the computation as of the dates shown below (in thousands):

	December 31 ,
	2017		2016		2015

Stock options outstanding		13,463		11,845		8,435
Warrants outstanding		620		600		3,565
Shares of c ommon stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding		7,983		7,521		7,087

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recently Adopted

March 2016

, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”)

No.

2016

09,

Compensation – Stock Compensation: Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting

(“ASU

2016

09”

). ASU

2016

in the

first

quarter of

2017.

We have elected to continue to estimate forfeitures based on the estimated number of awards expected to vest. In addition, the adoption of ASU

2016

resulted in the recognition of

$3.6

2016

did

not

have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

July 2015,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2015

11,

Inventory (Topic

330

)

(“ASU

2015

11”

). ASU

2015

first

-out or the retail inventory method. We adopted the provisions of ASU

2015

in the

first

quarter of

2017.

The adoption did

not

have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

Not

Yet Adopted

May 2017,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2017

09,

Compensation – Stock Compensation (Topic

718

): Scope of Modification Accounting

(“ASU

2017

09”

The amendments in ASU

2017

provide guidance about which changes to the terms or conditions of a stock-based payment award require an entity to apply modification accounting in Topic

718.

The amendments in ASU

2017

are effective for all entities for annual periods, and interim periods within those annual periods, beginning after

December

15,

2017.

Early adoption is permitted, including adoption in any interim period, for (

) public business entities for reporting periods for which financial statements have

not

yet been issued and (

) all other entities for reporting periods for which financial statements have

not

yet been made available for issuance. We plan to adopt the provisions of ASU

2017

in the

first

quarter of

2018.

We do

not

expect the adoption of ASU

2017

to have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition.

February 2016,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2016

02,

Leases

(“ASU

2016

02”

). ASU

2016

requires a lessee to record on the balance sheet the assets and liabilities for the rights and obligations created by leases with lease terms of more than

months. In addition, ASU

2016

requires both lessees and lessors to disclose certain key information about lease transactions. ASU

2016

is effective for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2018,

including interim periods within those fiscal years. We plan to adopt the provisions of ASU

2016

in the

first

quarter of

2019,

and we are currently evaluating the impact on our results of operations and financial condition.

May 2014,

FASB issued ASU

No.

2014

09,

Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic

606

)

(“ASU

2014

09”

). ASU

2014

is effective for fiscal years beginning after

December 15, 2017,

including interim periods within those fiscal years. The provisions of ASU

2014

allow for either a full retrospective or a modified retrospective adoption approach.

Under the provisions of ASU

2014

09,

2014

using the modified retrospective approach. Under this approach, incremental disclosures will be provided to present each financial statement line item for

2018

under the prior standard. We are substantially complete with our evaluation of the effect that the adoption of ASU

2014

will have on our consolidated financial statements, and we expect to record a cumulative adjustment to retained earnings of

$1.9

million on

January 1, 2018.

This adjustment reflects the acceleration of

$2.9

million in gross product sales less

$1.0

million in product sales allowances.

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Valuation Allowances and Reserves [Table Text Block]

	Product Returns			Distributor Fees			GPO Fees, Rebates and Chargebacks			Total

Balance at December 31, 2016	$	49		$	72		$	221		$	342
Provision		473			2,027			16,752			19,252
Payments/credits		(1	)		(1,519	)		(8,755	)		(10,275	)
Balance at December 31, 2017	$	521		$	580		$	8,218		$	9,319

Schedule of Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Table Text Block]

	December 31 ,
	2017		2016		2015

Stock options outstanding		13,463		11,845		8,435
Warrants outstanding		620		600		3,565
Shares of c ommon stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding		7,983		7,521		7,087

Note 3 - Fair Value Measurements (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Schedule of Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring Basis [Table Text Block]

			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Balance at December 31 , 2017		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Money market funds	$	91,386	$	91,386	$	—	$	—
U.S. corporate debt securities		17,520		—		17,520		—
U.S. commercial paper		39,863		—		39,863		—
Foreign commercial paper		19,854		—		19,854		—
Total	$	168,623	$	91,386	$	77,237	$	—

			Fair Value Measurements at Reporting Date Using
	Balance at December 31 , 2016		Quoted Prices in Active Markets for Identical Assets (Level 1)		Significant Other Observable Inputs (Level 2)		Significant Unobservable Inputs (Level 3)
Money market funds	$	11,493	$	11,493	$	—	$	—
U.S. corporate debt securities		12,039		—		12,039		—
Foreign corporate debt securities		14,057		—		14,057		—
U.S. commercial paper		8,635		—		8,635		—
Foreign commercial paper		2,993		—		2,993		—
Total	$	49,217	$	11,493	$	37,724	$	—

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Available-for-sale Securities [Table Text Block]

	December 31, 201 7
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Estimated Fair Value
U.S. corporate debt securities	$	13,003	$	—	$	(10	)	$	12,993
U.S. commercial paper		4,929		—		—			4,929
Foreign commercial paper		9,874		—		—			9,874
Total	$	27,806	$	—	$	(10	)	$	27,796

	December 31, 201 6
	Amortized Cost		Gross Unrealized Gains		Gross Unrealized Losses			Estimated Fair Value
U.S. corporate debt securities	$	12,048	$	—	$	(9	)	$	12,039
Foreign corporate debt		14,065		—		(8	)		14,057
U.S. commercial paper		8,635		—		—			8,635
Foreign commercial paper		2,993		—		—			2,993
Total	$	37,741	$	—	$	(17	)	$	37,724

Schedule of Inventory, Current [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017		2016
Raw materials	$	2,754	$	1,647
Work in process		4,166		1,104
Finished goods		3,188		2,589
Total inventory	$	10,108	$	5,340

Property, Plant and Equipment [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Scientific equipment	$	9,742		$	7,952
Leasehold improvements		1,654			1,635
Computer equipment and software		1,420			1,429
Furniture, fixtures and office equipment		1,024			674
Property and equipment , gross		13,840			11,690
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(7,859	)		(6,614	)
Property and equipment, net	$	5,981		$	5,076

Schedule of Accrued Liabilities [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	20 17		2016
Accrued employee salaries and benefits	$	2,730	$	2,236
Accrued bonuses		5,044		3,474
Accrued expenses for realignment (see Note 6)		1,086		2,704
Total accrued payroll and employee liabilities	$	8,860	$	8,414

	December 31,
	2017		2016
Accrued consulting and professional fees	$	6,869	$	4,703
Accrued accounts payable		148		1,039
Accrued product sales allowances		9,319		342
Deferred rent		651		116
Other accrued liabilities		188		88
Total other accrued liabilities	$	17,175	$	6,288

- Definition

Tabular disclosure of available-for-sale securities which includes, but is not limited to, changes in the cost basis and fair value, fair value and gross unrealized gain (loss), fair values by type of security, contractual maturity and classification, amortized cost basis, contracts to acquire securities to be accounted for as available-for-sale, debt maturities, transfers to trading, change in net unrealized holding gain (loss) net of tax, continuous unrealized loss position fair value, aggregate losses qualitative disclosures, other than temporary impairment (OTTI) losses or other disclosures related to available for sale securities.

+ References + Details

Note 5 - Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Schedule of Future Minimum Rental Payments for Operating Leases [Table Text Block]

Year ended December 31:
2018	$	2,418
2019		1,906
2020		1,503
2021		1,546
2022		1,590
Thereafter		2,124
Total future minimum lease payments	$	11,087

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance [Table Text Block]

	Number of Shares
Stock options outstanding		13,462,963
Stock options available for grant		4,685,432
Employee stock purchase plan		267,317
Warrants outstanding		620,164
Shares of c ommon stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding (see Note 7)		7,982,957
Total shares reserved for future issuance		27,018,833

Share-based Compensation, Stock Options, Activity [Table Text Block]

	Outstanding Options
	Number of Shares			Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Balance at December 31, 2014		7,918,004		$	8.69
Granted		2,134,505			28.95
Exercised		(1,042,343	)		9.15
Cancelled		(575,178	)		10.42
Balance at Decemb er 31, 2015		8,434,988			13.64
Granted		4,920,661			15.98
Exercised		(798,363	)		8.37
Cancelled		(711,910	)		22.43
Balance at Decemb er 31, 2016		11,845,376			14.44
Granted		4,300,621			16.17
Exercised		(1,350,605	)		8.49
Cancelled		(1,332,429	)		20.06
Balance at December 31, 2017		13,462,963			15.03

Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Vested and Expected to Vest, Outstanding and Exercisable [Table Text Block]

	Years Ended December 31,
	2017				2016				2015
	Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price		Options		Weighted- Average Exercise Price
Exercisable at end of year		5,446,586	$	13.25		4,356,665	$	11.66		2,587,392	$	8.72
Options vested or expected to vest		12,854,571	$	14.98		11,234,529	$	14.32		8,059,481	$	13.38

Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, by Exercise Price Range [Table Text Block]

										Weighted-
				Weighted-						Average
				Average		Weighted-				Exercise
				Remaining		Average				Price of
Options	Range of			Contractual		Exercise		Options		Options
Outstanding	Exercise Prices			Life (in years)		Price		Exercisable		Exercisable
34,906		$5.20			3.04	$	5.20		34,906	$	5.20
1,962,586	$6.60	–	$7.20		5.30		7.19		1,587,586		7.18
1,894,556	$ 8.80	–	$12.90		6.23		9.55		1,610,345		9.54
1,895,717		$13.00			8.88		13.00		532,872		13.00
1,900,182	$13.05	–	$16.30		8.90		14.95		278,933		15.12
1,029,700	$16.35	–	$16.90		8.65		16.81		342,983		16.82
4,745,316	$17.00	–	$38.46		9.02		21.00		1,058,961		26.73
13,462,963	$ 5.20	–	$38.46		8.01		15.03		5,446,586		13.25

Schedule of Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Allocation of Recognized Period Costs [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017		2016		2015
Research and development	$	11,312	$	11,316	$	4,701
General and administrative		9,469		7,402		6,282
Sales and marketing		9,757		7,238		3,377
Total s tock-based compensation expense	$	30,538	$	25,956	$	14,360

Schedule of Share-based Payment Award, Stock Options, Valuation Assumptions [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Risk-free interest rate		2.1	%		1.7	%		1.7	%
Dividend yield		—	%		—	%		—	%
Volatility		74.0	%		89.1	%		92.7	%
Expected life (years)		6			6			6

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Risk-free interest rate		1.2	%		0.4	%		0.1	%
Dividend yield		—	%		—	%		—	%
Volatility		50.0	%		68.3	%		86.7	%
Expecte d life (months)		6			6			6

Note 9 - Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017			2016			2015
Tax at statutory federal rate	$	( 67,145	)	$	( 58,868	)	$	( 33,181	)
State tax, net of federal benefit		( 6,203	)		2,013			( 5,753	)
Research and development credits		( 5,962	)		( 4,206	)		( 2,757	)
Stock-based compensation expense		3,151			2,694			894
Non-deductible compensation		—			1,864			—
Change in valuation allowance		3,241			55,173			40,445
Impact of the 2017 Tax Act		74,361			—			—
Other		( 1,443	)		1,330			352
Provision for income taxes	$	—		$	—		$	—

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]

	December 31,
	2017			2016
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforward	$	134,659		$	138,727
Research and development credits		25,919			16,687
Stock-based compensation		8,633			10,272
Other		2,920			3,204
Total gross deferred tax assets		172,131			168,890
Valuation allowance		(172,131	)		(168,890	)
Net deferred tax assets	$	—		$	—

Note 11 - Summary of Quarterly Consolidated Financial Data (Unaudited) (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2017

Notes Tables

Quarterly Financial Information [Table Text Block]

	2017
	First Quarter			Second Quarter			Third Quarter			Fourth Quarter
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenue s:
Net product sales	$	3,632		$	8,510		$	8,572		$	10,053
Cost of product sales		(1,186	)		(1,013	)		(1,051	)		(1,338	)
Gross Profit		2,446			7,497			7,521			8,715
Operating expenses:
Research and development		33,384			28,597			28,844			47,757
General and administrative		6,742			6,185			6,462			6,165
Sales and marketing		11,619			14,770			13,529			16,683
Loss from operations		(49,299	)		(42,055	)		(41,314	)		(61,890	)
Other expense, net		(1,030	)		(744	)		(552	)		(600	)
Net loss	$	(50,329	)	$	(42,799	)	$	(41,866	)	$	(62,490	)
Basic and diluted net loss per share	$	(1.00	)	$	(0.80	)	$	(0.77	)	$	(1.09	)

	2016
	First Quarter			Second Quarter			Third Quarter			Fourth Quarter
	(In thousands, except per share amounts)
Revenues:
Net product sales	$	—		$	—		$	—		$	1,279
Cost of product sales		—			—			—			(35	)
Gross Profit		—			—			—			1,244
Operating e xpenses:
Research and development		16,092			27,286			30,242			29,505
General and administrative		5,367			4,774			5,333			5,892
Sales and marketing		11,853			11,006			12,159			12,650
Loss from operations		(33,312	)		(43,066	)		(47,734	)		(46,803	)
Other expense, net		(133	)		(160	)		(775	)		(1,160	)
Net loss	$	(33,445	)	$	(43,226	)	$	(48,509	)	$	(47,963	)
Basic and diluted net loss per share	$	(0.92	)	$	(1.17	)	$	(1.24	)	$	(1.22	)

Note 1 - Organization and Business (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Retained Earnings (Accumulated Deficit)	$ (783,455)	$ (585,971)
Cash, Cash Equivalents, and Short-term Investments	$ 172,400

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details Textual) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life		5 years
Deferred Revenue, Current		$ 2,763	$ 1,099
Deferred Tax Assets, Gross		172,131	168,890
Deferred Tax Assets, Valuation Allowance		172,131	$ 168,890
Accounting Standards Update 2016-09 [Member]
Deferred Tax Assets, Gross		3,600
Deferred Tax Assets, Valuation Allowance		$ 3,600
Accounting Standards Update 2014-09 [Member] \| Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Cumulative Effect on Retained Earnings, before Tax	$ 1,900
Sales Revenue, Goods, Gross	2,900
Sales Allowances, Goods	$ 1,000
Customer Concentration Risk [Member] \| Sales Revenue, Net [Member] \| SUSTOL [Member]
Number of Major Customers		2

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Summary of Product Sales Allowance (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Balance	$ 342
Provision	19,252
Payments/credits	(10,275)
Balance	9,319
Allowance for Sales Returns [Member]
Balance	49
Provision	473
Payments/credits	(1)
Balance	521
Allowance for Distributor Fees [Member]
Balance	72
Provision	2,027
Payments/credits	(1,519)
Balance	580
Allowance for Rebates and Chargebacks [Member]
Balance	221
Provision	16,752
Payments/credits	(8,755)
Balance	$ 8,218

Note 2 - Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Securities Excluded From Calculation of Diluted Earnings Per Share (Details) - shares shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Employee Stock Option [Member]
Shares excluded (in shares)	13,463	11,845	8,435
Warrant [Member]
Shares excluded (in shares)	620	600	3,565
Convertible Debt Securities [Member]
Shares excluded (in shares)	7,983	7,521	7,087

Note 3 - Fair Value Measurements (Details Textual) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Cash Equivalents, at Carrying Value	$ 49,400,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Current	27,796,000	$ 37,724,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Gain	7,000	23,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Unrealized Loss	10,000	17,000	$ 40,000
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Gains	0	0	0
Available-for-sale Securities, Gross Realized Losses	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Note 3 - Fair Value Measurements - Financial Assets Measured on a Recurring Basis (Details) - Fair Value, Measurements, Recurring [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Total	$ 168,623	$ 49,217
Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	19,854
Domestic Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	17,520	12,039
United States Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	39,863	8,635
Foreign Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities		14,057
Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities		2,993
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Total	91,386	11,493
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] \| Domestic Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] \| United States Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] \| Foreign Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member] \| Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Total	77,237	37,724
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] \| Domestic Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	17,520	12,039
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] \| United States Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	39,863	8,635
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] \| Foreign Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities		14,057
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member] \| Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities	19,854	2,993
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Total
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] \| Domestic Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] \| United States Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] \| Foreign Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member] \| Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities
Money Market Funds [Member]
Money market funds	91,386	11,493
Money Market Funds [Member] \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 1 [Member]
Money market funds	91,386	11,493
Money Market Funds [Member] \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 2 [Member]
Money market funds
Money Market Funds [Member] \| Fair Value, Inputs, Level 3 [Member]
Money market funds

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Asset Impairment Charges	$ 0	$ 0
Inventory, Net	10,108	5,340
Depreciation	1,500	1,100	$ 700
Construction in Progress, Gross	2,000	1,700
SUSTOL [Member]
Inventory, Net	7,100	$ 5,300
CINVANTI [Member]
Inventory, Net	$ 3,000

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details - Available-for-sale Securities (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	$ 27,806,000	$ 37,741,000
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses	(10,000)	(17,000)	$ (40,000)
Available-for-sale securities, current	27,796,000	37,724,000
Domestic Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	13,003,000	12,048,000
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses	(10,000)	(9,000)
Available-for-sale securities, current	12,993,000	12,039,000
United States Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	4,929,000	8,635,000
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses
Available-for-sale securities, current	4,929,000	8,635,000
Foreign Corporate Debt Securities [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost		14,065,000
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses		(8,000)
Available-for-sale securities, current		14,057,000
Foreign Commercial Paper [Member]
Available-for-sale securities, amortized cost	9,874,000	2,993,000
Available-for-sale securities, gross unrealized losses
Available-for-sale securities, current	$ 9,874,000	$ 2,993,000

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details - Inventory (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Raw materials	$ 2,754	$ 1,647
Work in process	4,166	1,104
Finished goods	3,188	2,589
Total inventory	$ 10,108	$ 5,340

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details - Property and Equipment (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Property and equipment, gross	$ 13,840	$ 11,690
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	(7,859)	(6,614)
Property and equipment, gross	5,981	5,076
Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, gross	9,742	7,952
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property and equipment, gross	1,654	1,635
Computer Equipment [Member]
Property and equipment, gross	1,420	1,429
Furniture and Fixtures [Member]
Property and equipment, gross	$ 1,024	$ 674

Note 4 - Balance Sheet Details - Accrued Payroll, Employee Liabilities, and Other Expenses (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Accrued employee salaries and benefits	$ 2,730	$ 2,236
Accrued bonuses	5,044	3,474
Accrued expenses for realignment (see Note 6)	1,086	2,704
Total accrued payroll and employee liabilities	8,860	8,414
Accrued consulting and professional fees	6,869	4,703
Accrued accounts payable	148	1,039
Accrued product sales allowances	9,319	342
Deferred rent	651	116
Other accrued liabilities	188	88
Total other accrued liabilities	$ 17,175	$ 6,288

Note 5 - Commitments and Contingencies (Details Textual) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($) ft²	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Operating Leases, Rent Expense \| $	$ 3.1	$ 2.1	$ 1.5
Purchase Obligation \| $	39.7
Unrecorded Unconditional Purchase Obligation \| $	$ 35.9
San Diego [Member]
Area of Real Estate Property \| ft²	28,275
Lessee, Operating Lease, Renewal Term	5 years
Redwood City [Member]
Area of Real Estate Property \| ft²	26,067
Jersey City [Member]
Area of Real Estate Property \| ft²	1,898

Note 5 - Commitment and Contingencies - Future Minimum Lease Payments (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
2018	$ 2,418
2019	1,906
2020	1,503
2021	1,546
2022	1,590
Thereafter	2,124
Total future minimum lease payments	$ 11,087

Note 6 - Realignment of Goals and Objectives and New Development Focus (Details Textual) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended	15 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)
Restructuring and Related Cost, Expected Cost	$ 9.6	$ 9.6
Restructuring Plan [Member]
Restructuring Charges	1.8	9.6
Payments for Restructuring	4.6
Restructuring Plan [Member] \| Research and Development Expense [Member]
Restructuring Charges	1.5
Restructuring Plan [Member] \| General and Administrative Expense [Member]
Restructuring Charges	0.3
Restructuring Plan [Member] \| Accrued Payroll and Employee Liabilities [Member]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Cost Incurred to Date	1.1	1.1
Restructuring Plan [Member] \| Employee Severance [Member]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Expected Cost	5.7	5.7
Restructuring Plan [Member] \| Accelerated Non-Cash Stock Option Expense [Member]
Restructuring and Related Cost, Expected Cost	$ 3.9	$ 3.9

Note 7 - Secured Notes to Related Party (Details Textual) - USD ($)				1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Aug. 05, 2016	Aug. 02, 2016	Jul. 29, 2011	Apr. 30, 2011	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Convertible Debt Issuable in Connection with Private Placement				$ 4,500,000
Proceeds from Convertible Debt				$ 4,300,000
Amortization of Debt Discount (Premium)					$ 773,000	$ 689,000	$ 624,000
Convertible Notes Payable, Related Parties, Current					3,684,000	2,911,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Beneficial Conversion Feature					369,000	348,000	328,000
Interest Expense					3,937,000	2,664,000	958,000
Notes Payable, Related Parties, Noncurrent						50,000,000
Common Stock [Member]
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Beneficial Conversion Feature
Convertible Debt [Member]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage				6.00%
Debt Instrument Conversion Ratio Multiple of Principal				$ 1,000
Beneficial Ownership after Conversion				9.99%
Notice Period Associated with Beneficial Ownership Percentage Limitation Convertible Notes				61 days
Common Shares Registered for Resale in Connection with Convertible Notes			3,500,000
Debt Instrument, Term				10 years
Paid-in-Kind Interest					400,000
Debt Instrument, Increase (Decrease), Other, Net					400,000
Interest Expense, Debt, Excluding Amortization					400,000	400,000	300,000
Amortization of Debt Discount (Premium)					800,000	700,000	$ 600,000
Debt Instrument, Face Amount					6,400,000
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount					$ 2,700,000
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Number Shares of Equity Insturments					8,000,000
Convertible Debt [Member] \| Common Stock [Member]
Debt Instrument Conversion Ratio Shares				1,250
Term Loan [Member] \| Tang Capital [Member]
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage		8.00%
Debt Instrument, Term		2 years
Debt Agreement, Maximum Borrowing Capacity		$ 100,000,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt	$ 50,000,000
Proceeds from Issuance of Long-term Debt, Subject to Achievement of Corporate Milestone		50,000,000
Debt Instrument, Fee Amount		$ 0
Debt Instrument, Number of Warrants		0
Debt Instrument, Convertible, Beneficial Conversion Feature		$ 0
Interest Expense					$ 2,800,000	$ 1,600,000
Notes Payable, Related Parties, Noncurrent					$ 25,000,000

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands		1 Months Ended												12 Months Ended
	Dec. 01, 2007	Dec. 31, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Jan. 31, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2015	May 31, 2015	May 30, 2015	May 31, 2014	May 30, 2014	Jun. 30, 2011	May 31, 2010	May 30, 2009	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Jun. 30, 2014	Dec. 31, 2007
Proceeds from Issuance or Sale of Equity														$ 306,279		$ 128,199
Proceeds from Issuance of Common Stock		$ 142,600		$ 163,700
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights		620,164												620,164
Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period, Weighted Average Exercise Price														$ 8.49	$ 8.37	$ 9.15
Common Stock, Shares, Issued		64,609												64,609	39,355
Common Stock, Capital Shares Reserved for Future Issuance		27,018,833												27,018,833
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant		4,685,432												4,685,432
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Expiration Period														10 years
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Award Vesting Period														4 years
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Forfeitures in Period														993,920
Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Forfeitures in Period, Weighted Average Exercise Price														$ 17.77
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Expirations in Period														338,509
Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Expirations in Period, Weighted Average Exercise Price														$ 26.81
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercisable, Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term														6 years 182 days
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period, Intrinsic Value														$ 9,900	$ 10,400
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Outstanding, Intrinsic Value		$ 35,600												35,600	16,900
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercisable, Intrinsic Value		$ 35,600												$ 35,600	$ 16,900
Share-based Compensation, Shares Authorized under Stock Option Plans, Exercise Price Range, Number of Outstanding Options		13,462,963												13,462,963
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized		$ 88,200												$ 88,200
Employee Service Share-based Compensation, Nonvested Awards, Compensation Cost Not yet Recognized, Period for Recognition														3 years
Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Additional Shares Authorized	5,000		200,000		100,000			100,000		25,000	25,000		10,000	475,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award Maximum Employee Earnings with held to Purchase Common Stock Percent														10.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award Discount on Stock Price														85.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award Eligible Participants Percent														48.00%
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Shares Issued in Period														77,283	54,932	30,361
Share-based Compensation Arrangements by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Exercises in Period, Weighted Average Exercise Price														$ 12.80	$ 14.03	$ 8.46
Common Stock, Shares, Issued		207,683												207,683
Common Stock, Capital Shares Reserved for Future Issuance		267,317												267,317
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Options, Grants in Period, Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value														$ 10.61	11.82	21.92
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Per Share Weighted-average Fair Value Price of Shares Purchased		$ 4.51												$ 4.51	$ 6.10	$ 8.23
Equity Incentive Plan 2007 [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Additional Shares Authorized			5,000,000		3,000,000		4,300,000		1,750,000		4,500,000	100,000		18,800,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Authorized																		150,000
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Number of Shares Available for Grant		4,685,432												4,685,432
Pre-funded Warrants[Member]
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights																	600,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights																	$ 0.01
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercised During Period														4,426
Class of Warrant or Right, Outstanding		595,574												595,574
Private Placement 2011 [Member] \| Warrants Issued in Connection with the 2011 Private Placement [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right, Number of Securities Called by Warrants or Rights											4,000,000
Class of Warrant or Right, Exercise Price of Warrants or Rights											$ 3.60
Common Stock [Member]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues		9,700,000		14,100,000		5,500,000								23,822,000		5,520,000
Sale of Stock, Price Per Share						$ 24.75
Proceeds from Issuance or Sale of Equity						$ 128,200
Payments of Stock Issuance Costs		$ 7,400		$ 8,800		$ 8,400
Share Price		$ 15.50		$ 12.20										$ 15.50
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Warrants Exercised														4,000	2,396,000	286,000
Common Stock [Member] \| Pre-funded Warrants[Member]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, Warrants Exercised														4,423
Common Stock [Member] \| Private Placement 2011 [Member]
Stock Issued During Period, Shares, New Issues															2,395,700	285,713
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award, Non-Option Equity Instruments, Exercised															2,965,477	343,813

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance (Details) - shares	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Stock options outstanding (in shares)	13,462,963	11,845,376	8,434,988	7,918,004
Stock options available for grant (in shares)	4,685,432
Employee stock purchase plan (in shares)	267,317
Warrants outstanding (in shares)	620,164
Shares of common stock underlying Convertible Notes outstanding (see Note 7) (in shares)	7,982,957
Total shares reserved for future issuance (in shares)	27,018,833

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Stock Option Activity (Details) - $ / shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Number of shares outstanding (in shares)	11,845,376	8,434,988	7,918,004
Number of shares outstanding, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 14.44	$ 13.64	$ 8.69
Number of shares granted (in shares)	4,300,621	4,920,661	2,134,505
Number of shares granted, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 16.17	$ 15.98	$ 28.95
Number of shares exercised (in shares)	(1,350,605)	(798,363)	(1,042,343)
Number of shares exercised, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 8.49	$ 8.37	$ 9.15
Number of shares cancelled (in shares)	(1,332,429)	(711,910)	(575,178)
Number of shares cancelled, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 20.06	$ 22.43	$ 10.42
Number of shares outstanding (in shares)	13,462,963	11,845,376	8,434,988
Number of shares outstanding, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 15.03	$ 14.44	$ 13.64

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Options Exercisable, Vested or Expected to Vest (Details) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Options exercisable at end of year (in shares)	5,446,586	4,356,665	2,587,392
Options exercisable at end of year, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 13.25	$ 11.66	$ 8.72
Options vested or expected to vest (in shares)	12,854,571	11,234,529	8,059,481
Options vested or expected to vest, weighted average exercise price (in dollars per share)	$ 14.98	$ 14.32	$ 13.38

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Exercise Price Range (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017 $ / shares shares
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	13,462,963
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 5.20
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 38.46
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	8 years 3 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 15.03
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	5,446,586
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 13.25
Exercise Price Range 1 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	34,906
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 5.20
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 5.20
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	3 years 14 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 5.20
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	34,906
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 5.20
Exercise Price Range 2 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	1,962,586
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 6.60
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 7.20
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	5 years 109 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 7.19
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	1,587,586
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 7.18
Exercise Price Range 3 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	1,894,556
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 8.80
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 12.90
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	6 years 83 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 9.55
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	1,610,345
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 9.54
Exercise Price Range 4 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	1,895,717
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 13
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 13
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	8 years 321 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 13
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	532,872
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 13
Exercise Price Range 5 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	1,900,182
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 13.05
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 16.30
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	8 years 328 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 14.95
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	278,933
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 15.12
Exercise Price Range 6 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	1,029,700
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 16.35
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 16.90
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	8 years 237 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 16.81
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	342,983
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 16.82
Exercise Price Range 7 [Member]
Options Outstanding (in shares) \| shares	4,745,316
Range of Exercise Prices, Lower Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 17
Range of Exercise Prices, Upper Limit (in dollars per share)	$ 38.46
Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life (Year)	9 years 7 days
Weighted- Average Exercise Price (in dollars per share)	$ 21
Options Exercisable (in shares) \| shares	1,058,961
Weighted- Average Exercise Price of Options Exercisable (in dollars per share)	$ 26.73

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Stock-based Compensation Expense (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 30,538	$ 25,956	$ 14,360
Research and Development Expense [Member]
Stock-based compensation expense	11,312	11,316	4,701
General and Administrative Expense [Member]
Stock-based compensation expense	9,469	7,402	6,282
Selling and Marketing Expense [Member]
Stock-based compensation expense	$ 9,757	$ 7,238	$ 3,377

Note 8 - Stockholders' Equity - Valuation Assumptions (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Employee Stock Option [Member]
Risk-free interest rate	2.10%	1.70%	1.70%
Dividend yield
Volatility	74.00%	89.10%	92.70%
Expected life (years) (Year)	6 years	6 years	6 years
Employee Stock Purchase Plan [Member]
Risk-free interest rate	1.20%	0.40%	0.10%
Dividend yield
Volatility	50.00%	68.30%	86.70%
Expected life (years) (Year)	180 days	180 days	180 days

Note 9 - Income Taxes (Details Textual) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)			$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Deferred Tax Assets, Tax Credit Carryforwards, Research	$ 25,919		$ 25,919	16,687
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent			35.00%
Adjustment of Deferred Tax (Asset) Liability, Revaluation Based On New Tax Rate	74,300
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Income Tax Penalties and Interest Accrued	0		$ 0	0
Unrecognized Tax Benefits	100		100	100
Unrecognized Tax Benefits that Would Impact Effective Tax Rate				$ 100
Deferred Tax Assets Revaluated [Member]
Valuation Allowance, Deferred Tax Asset, Increase (Decrease), Amount	(74,300)
Scenario, Forecast [Member]
Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation, at Federal Statutory Income Tax Rate, Percent		21.00%
Domestic Tax Authority [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards	557,900		557,900
Deferred Tax Assets, Tax Credit Carryforwards, Research	17,600		17,600
State and Local Jurisdiction [Member]
Operating Loss Carryforwards	300,600		300,600
Deferred Tax Assets, Tax Credit Carryforwards, Research	$ 10,500		$ 10,500

Note 9 - Income Taxes - Provisions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Tax at statutory federal rate	$ (67,145)	$ (58,868)	$ (33,181)
State tax, net of federal benefit	(6,203)	2,013	(5,753)
Research and development credits	(5,962)	(4,206)	(2,757)
Stock-based compensation expense	3,151	2,694	894
Non-deductible compensation		1,864
Change in valuation allowance	3,241	55,173	40,445
Impact of the 2017 Tax Act	74,361
Other	(1,443)	1,330	352
Provision for income taxes	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0

Note 9 - Income Taxes - Components of Deferred Tax Assets (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Deferred tax assets:
Net operating loss carryforward	$ 134,659	$ 138,727
Research and development credits	25,919	16,687
Stock-based compensation	8,633	10,272
Other	2,920	3,204
Total gross deferred tax assets	172,131	168,890
Valuation allowance	(172,131)	(168,890)
Net deferred tax assets

Note 10 - Employee Benefit Plan (Details Textual) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Match	50.00%	50.00%	50.00%
Defined Contribution Plan, Maximum Annual Contributions by Employer per Employee, Amount	$ 8,100	$ 7,950	$ 7,950
Defined Contribution Plan, Cost	$ 600,000	$ 600,000	$ 300,000
Maximum [Member]
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Employees' Gross Pay	3.00%	3.00%	3.00%

Note 11 - Summary of Quarterly Consolidated Financial Data (Unaudited) - Summary Quarterly Results of Operations (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Sep. 30, 2016	Jun. 30, 2016	Mar. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Revenues:
Net product sales	$ 10,053	$ 8,572	$ 8,510	$ 3,632	$ 1,279				$ 30,767	$ 1,279
Cost of product sales	(1,338)	(1,051)	(1,013)	(1,186)	(35)				(4,588)	(35)
Gross Profit	8,715	7,521	7,497	2,446	1,244
Operating expenses:
Research and development	47,757	28,844	28,597	33,384	29,505	30,242	27,286	16,092	138,582	103,125	61,183
General and administrative	6,165	6,462	6,185	6,742	5,892	5,333	4,774	5,367	25,554	21,366	18,395
Sales and marketing	16,683	13,529	14,770	11,619	12,650	12,159	11,006	11,853	56,601	47,668	17,347
Loss from operations	(61,890)	(41,314)	(42,055)	(49,299)	(46,803)	(47,734)	(43,066)	(33,312)
Other expense, net	(600)	(552)	(744)	(1,030)	(1,160)	(775)	(160)	(133)	(38)	(9)	118
Net loss	$ (62,490)	$ (41,866)	$ (42,799)	$ (50,329)	$ (47,963)	$ (48,509)	$ (43,226)	$ (33,445)	$ (197,484)	$ (173,143)	$ (97,591)
Basic and diluted net loss per share (in dollars per share)	$ (1.09)	$ (0.77)	$ (0.80)	$ (1)	$ (1.22)	$ (1.24)	$ (1.17)	$ (0.92)	$ (3.65)	$ (4.56)	$ (2.95)