Accounting Policies, by Policy (Policies)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2012

Basis of Accounting, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Basis of Presentation and Consolidation

The accompanying consolidated financial statements include the accounts of CBLI and its subsidiaries, BioLab 612, Incuron and Panacela, collectively referred to herein as the “Company.” All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated in consolidation. These financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America (“GAAP”)

Use of Estimates, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Use of Estimates

The preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities, disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Actual results could differ from those estimates.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash and Cash Equivalents

Cash equivalents are highly liquid investments with a maturity of 90 days or less at the date of purchase and consist of time deposits and investments in money market funds with commercial banks and financial institutions. As of December 31, 2012, $7,706,936 of cash was restricted to the use of its majority-owned subsidiaries.

Investment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Short-Term Investments

The Company’s short-term investments are classified as held to maturity given the intent and ability to hold the investments to maturity. Accordingly, these investments are carried at amortized cost. Short-term investments classified as held-to-maturity consisted of certificates of deposit with maturity dates beyond three months and less than one year. As of December 31, 2012, the Company’s short-term investments, in the amount of $2,633,944, were restricted to the use of its majority-owned subsidiaries

Concentration Risk, Credit Risk, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Concentrations of Credit Risk

Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to a significant concentration of credit risk primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents and short-term investments. The Company maintains cash balances with financial institutions in excess of insured limits. The Company does not believe it is exposed to significant credit risk due to the financial position of the depository institutions in which those deposits are held.

As of December 31, 2012, the Company held 30% of its cash and cash equivalents and 100% of its short-term investments in accounts located outside of the United States.

Receivables, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Significant Customers and Accounts Receivable

Grant and contract revenue from the United States government accounted for 34.8%, 87.6% and 100.0% of total revenue for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively. Although the Company anticipates ongoing federal government contract and grant revenue, there is no guarantee that this revenue stream will continue in the future.

Grant and contract revenue received by subsidiaries from Russian government agencies accounted for 65.2%, 12.4% and 0% of total revenues for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, respectively.

Accounts receivable consist of amounts due under contracts with certain government and foreign entities. The Company extends unsecured credit to customers under normal trade agreements, which generally require payment within 30 days.

Management estimates an allowance for doubtful accounts that is based upon management's review of delinquent accounts and an assessment of the Company's historical evidence of collections. There were no allowances for doubtful accounts as of December 31, 2012 and 2011, as the collection history from the Company’s customers indicated that collection was probable.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Equipment

Equipment is stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation. Upon retirement or sale, the cost of assets disposed of and the related accumulated depreciation are removed from the accounts and any resulting gain or loss is credited or charged to operations. Repair and maintenance costs are expensed as incurred.

Equipment is depreciated using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the respective assets as follows:

Asset Category	Estimated Useful Life (in Years)
Laboratory equipment		5
Furniture and fixtures		5
Computer equipment		3

Impairment or Disposal of Long-Lived Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Impairment of Long-Lived Assets

Long-lived assets to be held and used, including equipment, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amounts of the assets or related asset group may not be recoverable. Determination of recoverability is based on an estimate of discounted future cash flows resulting from the use of the asset. In the event that such cash flows are not expected to be sufficient to recover the carrying amount of the asset or asset group, the carrying amount of the asset is written down to its estimated net realizable value.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Restricted Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Restricted Cash

Restricted cash at December 31, 2012 includes a certificate of deposit, posted by Panacela, as a performance guarantee for its grant with the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation for the development of the drug candidate, Xenomycins. The guarantee requires Panacela to satisfactorily perform its statement of work under the grant. Panacela anticipates receiving the full proceeds of the deposit upon its expiration in January 2016.

Intangible Assets, Finite-Lived, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Intellectual Property

Costs related to filing and pursuing patent applications are recognized as general and administrative expenses (“G&A expenses”) as incurred, since the recoverability of such expenditures is uncertain. Upon marketability approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) or a respective foreign governing body, such costs will be capitalized and depreciated over the expected life of the related patent.

During the year-ended December 31, 2011, the Company performed its periodic review of capitalized patent costs and incorporated a more restrictive standard of capitalization widely utilized in the biotechnology industry, which includes a prerequisite of the FDA marketability approval as one of several factors needed to justify the continued capitalization of costs associated with securing patents. Given that the Company is currently developing requisite data towards submission to the FDA of biological license and new drug applications in support of its existing product candidates, capitalized patent costs of approximately $1,500,000 were expensed during the year ended December 31, 2011. This item has been treated as a change in estimate in the accompanying financial statements.

Revenue Recognition, Deferred Revenue [Policy Text Block]

Deferred Revenue

Deferred revenue represents cash received under grants and contracts in excess of the revenue recognizable through the end of the respective financial reporting period. The revenue associated with these advances will be recognized in future periods as the applicable costs are incurred

Debt, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Line of Credit

As of December 31, 2012, CBLI had a working capital line of credit that was fully secured by cash equivalents and short-term investments. The working capital line of credit carried an interest rate equal to the prime rate, had a borrowing limit of $600,000 and has since been closed. At December 31, 2012 and 2011, there were no outstanding borrowings under this credit facility

Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Accrued Warrant Liability

Certain warrants are accounted for as derivative instruments in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) Accounting Standards Codification (the “Codification”) on derivatives and hedging as the warrant holders, under certain change of control situations, could require settlement in cash. As such, the warrants were initially recorded as liabilities based on their fair values on the date of issuance. Subsequent changes in the value of the warrants are recorded in the statements of operations as “Change in value of warrant liability.”

The Company’s remaining outstanding warrants were treated as equity upon issuance and continue to be treated as equity since they did not contain any mandatory redemption features or other provisions that would require a different classification of these warrant instruments outside of permanent equity. Furthermore, these warrants do not contain any contingent exercise provisions or anti-dilution provisions that impact the fair value of a fixed-for-fixed option, and accordingly, the warrants are considered indexed to CBLI’s stock.

Foreign Currency Transactions and Translations Policy [Policy Text Block]

Foreign Currency Translation

The Russian ruble is the functional currency of our foreign subsidiaries, which are all located in the Russian Federation. Assets and liabilities of these subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at the period-end exchange rate. Income and expense items are translated at the average exchange rates during the period. The net effect of this translation is recorded in the consolidated financial statements as accumulated other comprehensive income (loss).

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Revenue Recognition

The Company generates grant and contract revenue from two different types of contractual arrangements: cost reimbursable grants and contracts and fixed-price grants and contracts. Costs consist primarily of internal labor charges, subcontractors and materials, as well as an allocation of fringe benefits, overhead and G&A expenses, based on the terms of the contract. Under cost reimbursable grants and contracts, revenue is recognized during the period that the associated research and development costs are incurred. Under fixed-price grants and contracts, revenue is recognized using the percentage-of-completion method. The assumptions and estimates used in determination of the percentage-of-completion are developed in coordination with the principal investigator performing the work

Research and Development Expense, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Research and Development

Research and development (“R&D”) costs are expensed as incurred. R&D costs primarily consist of salaries, fringe benefits, materials and related expenses for personnel and facility expenses. Other R&D expenses include fees paid to consultants and outside service providers, the costs of materials used in clinical trials and research and development and stock-based compensation.

Share-based Compensation, Option and Incentive Plans Policy [Policy Text Block]

Accounting for Stock-Based Compensation

The 2006 Equity Incentive Plan, as amended (the “Plan”), authorizes CBLI to grant (a) options to purchase common stock, (b) restricted or unrestricted stock units, and (c) stock appreciation rights, so long as the exercise or grant price of each are at least equal to the fair market value of the stock on the date of grant. At the 2012 annual meeting of stockholders, an amendment to increase the maximum number of shares of common stock reserved for issuance under the Plan was approved, and as of December 31, 2012, an aggregate of 10.0 million shares of common stock were authorized for issuance under the Plan, of which a total of approximately 3.0 million shares of common stock remained available for future awards. A single participant cannot be awarded more than 400,000 shares annually. Awards granted under the Plan have a contractual life of no more than 10 years. The terms and conditions of equity awards (such as price, vesting schedule, term and number of shares) under the Plan are specified in an award document, and approved by the Company’s compensation committee. 

The Company utilizes the Black-Scholes valuation model for estimating the fair value of all stock options granted. Set forth below are the assumptions used in valuing the stock options granted and a discussion of the Company’s methodology for developing each of the assumptions used: 

	For the year ended December 31,
	2012				2011				2010
Risk-free interest rate		.65	-	1.49%		.96	-	2.61%		1.42	-	2.75%
Expected dividend yield				0%				0%				0%
Expected life - years		5	-	6		5	-	6		5	-	6
Expected volatility		86.58	-	92.60%		84.28	-	92.38%		84.23	-	89.55%

“Risk-free interest rate” means the range of U.S. Treasury rates with a term that most closely resembles the expected life of the option as of the date the option is granted.

“Expected dividend yield” means the Company does not pay regular dividends on its common stock and does not anticipate paying any dividends in the foreseeable future.

“Expected life” means the period of time that options granted are expected to remain outstanding, based wholly on the use of the simplified (safe harbor) method. The simplified method is used because the Company does not yet have adequate historical exercise information to estimate the expected life the options granted.

“Expected volatility” means a measure of the amount by which a financial variable, such as share price, has fluctuated (historical volatility) or is expected to fluctuate (implied volatility) during a period. Expected volatility is based on the Company’s historical volatility and incorporates the volatility of the common stock of comparable companies when the expected life of the option exceeds the Company’s trading history.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income taxes

No income tax expense was recorded for the years ended December 31, 2012, 2011 and 2010, as the Company did not have taxable income for any of the years presented. A full valuation allowance has been recorded against the Company’s net deferred tax asset

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Earnings/(loss) per share

Basic net income (loss) per share of common stock excludes dilution for potential common stock issuances and is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period. Diluted net income (loss) per share reflects the potential dilution that could occur if securities or other contracts to issue common stock were exercised or converted into common stock. Diluted net loss per share is identical to basic net loss per share as potentially dilutive securities have been excluded from the calculation of diluted net loss per common share because the inclusion of such securities would be antidilutive.

The Company has excluded the following outstanding warrants and options from the calculation of diluted net loss per share because all such securities were antidilutive for the periods presented:

	As of December 31,
Common Equivalent Securities	2012		2011		2010
Warrants		10,377,995		12,564,193		9,450,633
Options		5,016,966		4,117,979		3,264,440
Total		15,394,961		16,682,172		12,715

Comprehensive Income, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Comprehensive Income (Loss)

The Company applies the Codification on comprehensive income (loss) that requires disclosure of all components of comprehensive income (loss) on an annual and interim basis. Comprehensive income (loss) is defined as the change in equity of a business enterprise during a period from transactions and other events and circumstances from non-owner sources.

Reclassification, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Reclassifications

Certain amounts presented in the prior year financial statements have been reclassified to conform with the current year presentation.

New Accounting Pronouncements, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Recently Issued Accounting Pronouncements

In October 2012, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2012-04, “Technical Corrections and Improvements.” The amendments in this update cover a wide range of Topics in the Accounting Standards Codification. These amendments include technical corrections and improvements to the Accounting Standards Codification and conforming amendments related to fair value measurements. The amendments in this update will be effective for fiscal periods beginning after December 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2012-04 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

In July 2012, the FASB issued ASU 2012-02, “Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment.” This update amends ASU 2011-08, Intangibles – Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets for Impairment and permits an entity first to assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more likely than not that an indefinite-lived intangible asset is impaired as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the quantitative impairment test in accordance with Subtopic 350-30, Intangibles - Goodwill and Other - General Intangibles Other than Goodwill. The amendments are effective for annual and interim impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after September 15, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2012-02 is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.