Quarterly financial information (unaudited) (Details) - USD ($)
$ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands
3 Months Ended 12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2019
Sep. 30, 2019
Jun. 30, 2019
Mar. 31, 2019
Dec. 31, 2018
Sep. 30, 2018
Jun. 30, 2018
Mar. 31, 2018
Dec. 31, 2019
Dec. 31, 2018
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]                    
Operating expenses $ 9,862 $ 9,584 $ 10,066 $ 9,477 $ 8,886 $ 10,460 $ 9,788 $ 10,384 $ 38,989 $ 39,518
Net income (loss) $ (9,356) $ (7,532) $ (6,495) $ (15,567) $ 350 $ (7,833) $ (4,438) $ (15,890) $ (38,950) $ (27,811)
Net loss per share - basic and diluted (in USD per share) $ (0.34) $ (0.28) $ (0.42) $ (1.22) $ 0.03 $ (0.72) $ (0.42) $ (1.78) $ (1.89) $ (2.69)
Weighted-average number of common shares used in net loss per share - basic and diluted (in shares) 27,620 26,681 15,344 12,713 10,847 10,829 10,693 8,905 20,644 10,321