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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.

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Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		6 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Change in fair value of derivative liability		$ (124)	$ 158	$ (1,295)	$ (124)
Research and development expense			34,134	45,084	157,791
MD Anderson License and the Research and Development Agreement Member [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Research and development service agreement aggregate quarterly payments			2,700	13,000
Research and development service agreement aggregate payments			41,900
Cash resources on hand			27,800
MD Anderson License and the Research and Development Agreement Member [Member] \| Other Current Assets [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Cash resources on hand			18,400
MD Anderson License and the Research and Development Agreement Member [Member] \| Non Current Assets [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Cash resources on hand			9,400
Series 1 Preferred Stock
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Temporary equity, fair value			18,900
Change in fair value of derivative liability			(1,300)
License Agreement
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock in licensing agreement (in shares)						11,722,163
Research and development expense						$ 67,300
Quarterly Payment \| MD Anderson License and the Research and Development Agreement Member [Member]
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Research and development service agreement aggregate quarterly payments			2,700
Intrexon Corporation/Precigen
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Amounts expensed for services incurred			8,100	21,400	$ 22,200
Amount due to related party, current			1,900	$ 6,800
Research and development expense			$ 1,000
Intrexon Corporation/Precigen \| Series 1 Preferred Stock
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Issuance of common stock in licensing agreement (in shares)	100,000		11,415