Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)	1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) entity	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) entity	Sep. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($) segment entity	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($) entity	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($)
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Research and development commitments with third parties not incurred		$ 4,138,000				$ 2,183,000				$ 4,138,000	$ 2,183,000
Maturity period of highly liquid investment										3 months
Cash equivalent investments in highly liquid money market accounts		$ 112,776,000				$ 16,598,000				$ 112,776,000	16,598,000
Gain on previously held equity investment										$ 0	$ 0	$ 7,415,000
Number of joint ventures | entity		4								4
Number of collaborators over which the Company has significant influence, equity method investments | entity		1				2				1	2
Fair value of financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis		$ 291,762,000				$ 280,497,000				$ 291,762,000	$ 280,497,000
Unrealized and realized appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of equity securities										66,876,000	(10,469,000)	10,443,000
Maximum risk of loss related to the identified VIEs		3,598,000				0				$ 3,598,000	0
Number of segments | segment										1
Property, plant and equipment, net		42,739,000				38,000,000				$ 42,739,000	38,000,000
Revenues		$ 41,498,000	$ 53,367,000	$ 44,891,000	$ 33,849,000	$ 31,092,000	$ 21,197,000	$ 11,787,000	$ 7,854,000	173,605,000	$ 71,930,000	23,760,000
ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Company's ownership percentage						15.70%					15.70%
Realized investment gain										$ 81,401,000
Oragenics, Inc.
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Company's ownership percentage		30.70%				24.40%				30.70%	24.40%
Equity securities
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Fair value of financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis		$ 83,653,000				$ 164,889,000				$ 83,653,000	$ 164,889,000
Equity securities | ZIOPHARM Oncology, Inc.
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Fair value of financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis						83,099,000					83,099,000
Unrealized and realized appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of equity securities											11,965,000	4,836,000
Equity securities | Oragenics, Inc.
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Fair value of financial assets measured at fair value on a recurring basis		16,601,000				7,192,000				16,601,000	7,192,000
Unrealized and realized appreciation (depreciation) in fair value of equity securities										4,863,000	(14,969,000)	$ (90,000)
Foreign Countries
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, net		$ 3,877,000				$ 2,200,000				3,877,000	2,200,000
Revenues										$ 5,918,000	$ 2,166,000
Minimum
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Expected useful life of intangible asset										2 years
Maximum
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Expected useful life of intangible asset										18 years
AquaBounty Technologies, Inc.
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Gain on previously held equity investment	$ 7,415,000
Intrexon Stock Option Plans
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Expected dividend yield										0.00%	0.00%	0.00%