- Definition

The aggregate costs incurred (1) in a planned search or critical investigation aimed at discovery of new knowledge with the hope that such knowledge will be useful in developing a new product or service, a new process or technique, or in bringing about a significant improvement to an existing product or process; or (2) to translate research findings or other knowledge into a plan or design for a new product or process or for a significant improvement to an existing product or process whether intended for sale or the entity's use, during the reporting period charged to research and development projects, including the costs of developing computer software up to the point in time of achieving technological feasibility, and costs allocated in accounting for a business combination to in-process projects deemed to have no alternative future use.

+ References+ Details

Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Commitments and Contingencies (Details 2) (USD $)	Dec. 31, 2012 item	Aug. 31, 2010 item	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Research agreement
Research expense			$ 242,549,000us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	$ 299,348,000us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense	$ 173,387,000us-gaap_ResearchAndDevelopmentExpense
Oxford Glycobiology Institute
Research agreement
Research obligation in connection with extension of term	871,000	2,900,000
Research expense, number of equal installments	36	60
Amount payable under research agreement extension			1,100,000
Research expense			937,000	890,000	577,000
Other development expenses			0	55,000	336,000
Amended research agreement with Oxford
Research agreement
Amount payable under research agreement extension			$ 290,000