ISSUANCE OF COMMON STOCK (Details) (USD $)	4 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			88 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	4 Months Ended		12 Months Ended																			12 Months Ended					12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2012	Aug. 31, 2011	Aug. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012	Sep. 29, 2009	Aug. 31, 2008 Placement agent [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 At-the-Market Sales Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Follow-On Public Offering [Member]	Aug. 31, 2009 New Warrant [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 December 2009 equity financing Series A [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 December 2009 equity financing Series B [Member]	Aug. 31, 2009 Private Placement 2008 [Member]	Aug. 31, 2008 Private Placement 2008 [Member] Investor	Aug. 31, 2008 Private Placement 2008 [Member] Placement agent [Member]	Aug. 31, 2008 Private Placement 2008 [Member] Limetree Capital [Member] Director	Aug. 31, 2009 Private Placement 2009 [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Private Placement 2009 [Member] Placement agent [Member]	Aug. 31, 2009 Private Placement 2009 [Member] Limetree Capital [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Private Placement 2009 [Member] Ladenburg Thalmann & Co. Inc. [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Private Placement 2010 [Member]	Aug. 31, 2011 Private Placement 2010 [Member] Placement agent [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 2009 registered direct financing [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 2009 registered direct financing [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series A [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 2009 registered direct financing [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series B [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Maximum [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series A [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Maximum [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series B [Member]	Aug. 31, 2008 Maximum [Member] Private Placement 2008 [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Minimum [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series A [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Minimum [Member] December 2009 equity financing Series B [Member]	Aug. 31, 2008 Minimum [Member] Private Placement 2008 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Weighted Average [Member] At-the-Market Sales Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Thomas E. Daley [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. [Member]	Dec. 31, 2012 Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. [Member]	Sep. 29, 2009 Raptor Pharmaceuticals Corp. [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member] Initial Commitment Fees [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member] Commitment Fees [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member] Excluding Commitment Fees [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member] Minimum [Member]	Aug. 31, 2010 Lincoln Park Capital Fund LLC [Member] Weighted Average [Member]
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock outstanding (in shares)	52,425,000	50,568,000	35,569,000		52,425,000																														52,425,000
Number of investors for private placement														11
Number of shares covered by each warrant (in shares)														500							1,000
Sale of shares of common stock (in shares)	52,425,000	50,568,000	35,569,000		52,425,000			2,660,000	10,000,000					4,662,000			1,738,000				4,898,000												58			17,881,000		145,000	169,000	4,186,000
Number of units sold																	1,738,000				4,898,000
Private placement number of shares per unit (in shares)														1							1
Private placement number of warrants per unit (in shares)														1
Private placement sale price per unit (in dollars per share)														$ 2.14							$ 3.075
Proceeds from Sale of shares of common stock				$ 0	$ 310,000									$ 10,000,000			$ 2,386,000				$ 15,100,000
Private placement number of shares covered by units sold (in shares)																	1,738,000				4,898,000
Number of shares covered by warrants (in shares)							490,000				1,874,000	1,874,000	2,032,000	2,331,000		439,000	869,000	75,000	130,000		4,898,000	98,000
Fair value of warrants issued							960,000			2,300,000	1,300	500		3,000,000			1,000,000	52,000	171,000		7,800	200
Exercise price (in dollars per share)				$ 80.86			$ 2.36			$ 1.29								$ 2.50	$ 1.50	$ 2.50	$ 3.075		$ 2.45					$ 3.86			$ 3.22
Risk free interest rate (in hundredths)							2.00%			0.55%				2.00%			1.11%	2.23%	2.58%		1.74%			2.23%	0.56%
Expected term							5 years			1 year				2 years			2 years	5 years	5 years		5 years			5 years	18 months
Volatility (in hundredths)							121.45%			231.97%				121.45%			240.29%	49.28%	240.29%		85.14%			49.28%	49.28%
Warrant term														2 years	5 years		2 years			5 years	5 years					5 years	18 months		180 days	180 days
Payments for Commissions																628,000						979,000
ISSUANCES OF COMMON STOCK AND WARRANTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE OF UNITS IN A PRIVATE PLACEMENT [Abstract]
Payments for placement agents fees							700,000
Number of directors acting on board of placement agent																1
Proceeds from the exercise of common stock warrants	1,843,000	5,013,000	8,913,000	475,000	22,754,000								2,615,000
Exercise price of common stock until first anniversary of issuance																	$ 2.57
Exercise price of common stock after first anniversary of issuance																	$ 3.22
MERGER 2009 AND NASDAQ LISTING [Abstract]
Exercise price of warrant (in dollars per share)				$ 80.86			$ 2.36			$ 1.29								$ 2.50	$ 1.50	$ 2.50	$ 3.075		$ 2.45					$ 3.86			$ 3.22
Entity's outstanding common stock owned by RPC's stockholders (in hundredths)	95.00%			95.00%
Entity's outstanding common stock owned by entity's stockholders (in hundredths)	5.00%			5.00%
Number of shares exchanged by acquiree prior to merger (in shares)																																		76,703,000
Number of shares outstanding before reverse stock split (in shares)				15,999,000
Number of shares outstanding after reverse stock split (in shares)				941,000
Reverse stock split conversion ratio	1-for-17			1-for-17
Asset Allocation Value [Abstract]
Cash and equivalents						580,000
Other current assets						100,000
Accrued liabilities						(680,000)
Intangible assets:
In-process research & development						900,000
Licenses						240,000
Total identifiable assets						1,140,000
Goodwill						3,280,000
Total net assets acquired						4,420,000
ISSUANCES OF COMMON STOCK AND WARRANTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SALE OF UNITS IN A REGISTERED DIRECT OFFERING [Abstract]
Issuance of common stock and warrants in a registered direct financing																							3,748,000
Gross proceeds from direct offering																							7,500,000
Net proceeds from direct offering																							6,200,000
ISSUANCES OF COMMON STOCK IN CONNECTION WITH AN EQUITY LINE [Abstract]
Maximum common stock to be purchased under purchase agreement																																					15,000,000
Period over which common stock to be sold																																					25 months
Issuance of common stock to LPC, price per share																																									$ 1.50
Common stock value	52,000	51,000	36,000		52,000																												119,000					247,000	581,000
Maximum number of additional shares to be issued on pro rata basis																																					218,000
Stock price (in dollars per share)									$ 4.00																							$ 5.20										$ 2.78
FOLLOW-ON PUBLIC OFFERING 2011 [Abstract]
Sale of shares of common stock (in shares)	52,425,000	50,568,000	35,569,000		52,425,000			2,660,000	10,000,000					4,662,000			1,738,000				4,898,000												58			17,881,000		145,000	169,000	4,186,000
Number of shares issued to underwriters under over-allotment option (in shares)									1,500,000
Gross proceeds from issuance of common stock									46,000,000
Net proceeds from issuance of common stock									42,800,000
Underwriting discount percentage (in hundredths)									6.00%
ISSUANCES OF COMMON STOCK IN CONNECTION WITH AN AT-THE-MARKET COMMON STOCK SALES PROGRAM [Abstract]
Maximum amount of common stock can sell through ATM sales								40,000,000
Percentage of commission on gross proceeds under ATM sales (in hundredths)								3.00%
Proceeds from the sale of common stock under an ATM agreement								$ 13,300,000