Equity - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		119 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jul. 25, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Nov. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012 Notes Which Mature On July Two Thousand Twelve	Nov. 30, 2012 Purchase Agreement Agreement	Dec. 31, 2011 Consultant	Jan. 31, 2011 ATM Agreement	Feb. 28, 2011 Public Offering	Nov. 30, 2012 $1.5 Million Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park	Dec. 31, 2012 $1.5 Million Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park
Equity Note [Line Items]
Common shares issued						163,224			96,189	1,036,622	56,507	265,000
Net proceeds from shares sold									$ 1,066,286
Compensation and fees paid									10,826
Warrants settlement ratio										Each unit consisting of one share of common stock and a warrant to purchase four-tenths (0.40) of a share of common stock
Share issue to public offering, price per share										$ 2.05
Proceeds from issuance of common stocks and warrants, gross										8,500,325
Warrants, exercise period										5 years
Proceeds from issuance of common stocks and warrants, net		381,309	8,618,157	49,453,797						7,551,891		333,970
Exercise price of warrant	$ 5.00									$ 10.44
Share issue in exchange of service (in shares)								12,576
Share issue in exchange of service, value								87,028
Purchase agreement, aggregate shares opexa has right to sell		16,500,000		16,500,000	16,500,000							1,500,000
Number of purchase agreements entered							2
Common shares issued, value											$ 149,131
Common stock issued as fee												2,610