SUMMARY OF SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES (Details) (USD $) Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	2 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				84 Months Ended
	Oct. 18, 2012	Aug. 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2011	Aug. 31, 2010	Aug. 31, 2006	Aug. 31, 2012
Basis of Presentation
Accumulated losses		$ 116,600,000				$ 116,600,000
Cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments		38,900,000				38,900,000
Proceeds from the sale of common stock pursuant to an at-the-market financing agreement	5,900,000	7,684,000	0	0		7,684,000
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Maximum maturity period for investments considered as highly liquid investments			3 months
Short-term Investments
Short-term duration government fund		15,307,000	0			15,307,000
Total short-term investments		15,307,000	0			15,307,000
Prepaid expenses and other [Abstract]
Other receivable, current		519,000				519,000
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated useful life of intangible assets					20 years
Fixed Assets [Abstract]
Useful life of significant additions and improvements in fixed assets for capitalization			greater than one
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets
Impairment of acquired research and development costs previously capitalized		$ 900,000
Income taxes [Abstract]
The Company's effective tax rate (in hundredths)		0.00%	0.00%	0.00%
Potentially dilutive securities [Abstract]
Warrants to purchase common stock		5,188	7,019	10,373
Options to purchase common stock		6,125	3,581	1,391
Total potentially dilutive securities		11,313	10,600	11,764
Operating earnings per share basic and diluted (in dollars per share)		$ (0.75)	$ (0.65)	$ (0.59)
Out license [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated useful life of intangible assets		16 years	16 years
IP license for RP103 and RP104 [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Estimated useful life of intangible assets		20 years	20 years