exhibit 10. 18 june 13, 2014 jane wright - mitchell address line 1 address line 2 dear jane : on behalf of acelrx pharmaceuticals, inc. ( the “ company ” ), i am pleased to offer you the full time position of chief legal officer. speaking for myself, as well as the other members of the company ’ s management team, we are all very impressed with your credentials and we look forward to your future success in this position. the terms of your new position with the company are as set forth below : 1. position. ( a ) your job title will be chief legal officer, and your primary work location will be acelrx headquarters in redwood city, california. you will report to richard king, chief executive officer. of course, the company may change your position, duties, and work location from time to time at its discretion. ( b ) you agree to the best of your ability and experience that you will at all times loyally and conscientiously perform all of the duties and obligations required of and from you pursuant to the express and implicit terms hereof, and to the reasonable satisfaction of the company. during the term of your employment, you further agree that you will devote 100 % of your business time and attention to the business of the company, the company will be entitled to all of the benefits and profits arising from or incident to all such work services and advice, you will not render commercial or professional services of any nature to any person or organization, whether or not for compensation, without the prior written consent of the company, such consent not to be unreasonably withheld, and you will not directly or indirectly engage or participate in any business that is competitive in any manner with the business of the company. nothing in this letter agreement will prevent you from accepting speaking or presentation engagements in exchange for honoraria or from serving on boards of charitable organizations, from owning no more than one percent ( 1 % ) of the outstanding equity securities of a corporation whose stock is listed on a national stock exchange or serving on no more than one board of directors of another noncompetitive domestic or international company ; provided, however, that in all cases, these activities do not unreasonably detract from the performance of your duties for the company. 2. start date. subject to fulfillment of any conditions imposed by this letter agreement, you will commence this new position with the company on july 14, 2014 ( the “ start date ” )