Segment Information (Details) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($) segment	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number of operating segments \| segment			2
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Product revenues	$ 9,133	$ 11,623	$ 26,261	$ 27,993
Cost of product revenues	4,570	6,598	13,601	14,458
Gross Profit	4,563	5,025	12,660	13,535
Research and development programs revenue	2,266	5,936	9,483	17,896
Research and development expense	(13,207)	(20,571)	(38,508)	(63,470)
Sales, general and administrative expense	(19,596)	(25,883)	(61,845)	(68,127)
Restructuring charges	21	0	(372)	0
Loss from operations	(25,953)	(35,493)	(78,582)	(100,166)
Algenist Product Sales [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Product revenues	6,882	6,742	18,284	17,642
Cost of product revenues	2,159	2,067	5,826	5,444
Gross Profit	4,723	4,675	12,458	12,198
Intermediates/Ingredients [Member]
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Product revenues	2,251	4,881	7,977	10,351
Cost of product revenues	2,411	4,531	7,775	9,014
Gross Profit	$ (160)	$ 350	$ 202	$ 1,337

Research and development programs revenue.

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Total costs related to goods produced and sold during the reporting period.

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Aggregate revenue less cost of goods and services sold or operating expenses directly attributable to the revenue generation activity.

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Number of operating segments. An operating segment is a component of an enterprise: (a) that engages in business activities from which it may earn revenues and incur expenses (including revenues and expenses relating to transactions with other components of the same enterprise), (b) whose operating results are regularly reviewed by the enterprise's chief operating decision maker to make decisions about resources to be allocated to the segment and assess its performance, and (c) for which discrete financial information is available. An operating segment may engage in business activities for which it has yet to earn revenues, for example, start-up operations may be operating segments before earning revenues.

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The net result for the period of deducting operating expenses from operating revenues.

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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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Amount of expenses associated with exit or disposal activities pursuant to an authorized plan. Excludes expenses related to a discontinued operation or an asset retirement obligation.

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Aggregate revenue during the period from the sale of goods in the normal course of business, after deducting returns, allowances and discounts.

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Line items represent financial concepts included in a table. These concepts are used to disclose reportable information associated with domain members defined in one or many axes to the table.

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The aggregate total costs related to selling a firm's product and services, as well as all other general and administrative expenses. Direct selling expenses (for example, credit, warranty, and advertising) are expenses that can be directly linked to the sale of specific products. Indirect selling expenses are expenses that cannot be directly linked to the sale of specific products, for example telephone expenses, Internet, and postal charges. General and administrative expenses include salaries of non-sales personnel, rent, utilities, communication, etc.

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