License and Collaboration Agreements	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Research and Development [Abstract]
License and Collaboration Agreements	License and Collaboration Agreements Licenses Granted In August 2014, we entered into an agreement with Sanofi under which we granted Sanofi an exclusive license for use of our GLAAS platform to discover, develop and commercialize products to treat peanut allergy. Sanofi may terminate the agreement at any time upon six months’ written notice. We recognized no milestone revenue under this agreement for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $7.0 million and $1.0 million in milestone revenue under this agreement for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The agreement provides for additional payments of up to $160.0 million based upon the attainment of certain development and commercialization milestones and tiered royalties on sales of approved products. We currently have two separate license agreements with MedImmune, LLC (MedImmune), entered into October 2010, pursuant to which we granted MedImmune a worldwide, sublicensable, exclusive license to use GLA to develop and sell vaccines in two different infectious disease indications. Under the license agreements, MedImmune is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and obtain regulatory approval for a licensed product in certain markets and to market and sell licensed products in any country where it obtains regulatory approval. In 2010, MedImmune paid us upfront payments under the license agreements. Under each license agreement, MedImmune is obligated to make additional payments based on achievement of certain development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for the licensed indication. MedImmune is also obligated to pay us a low double-digit percentage share of non-royalty payments that it receives from sublicensees and a mid single-digit percentage royalty payment on net sales of licensed products, which royalty is subject to reduction under certain circumstances. Under each license agreement, MedImmune is obligated to make additional aggregate payments of $62.9 million to $72.5 million, depending on the infectious disease indication and the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones for the licensed indication. We recognized no revenue for the achievement of development milestones under these license agreements for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, and $2.5 million in milestone revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015. Licenses Acquired In July 2008, we licensed certain patent rights, know-how and technology related to our GLAAS platform from the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), specifically products and formulations containing GLA and another synthetic TLR 4 agonist referred to as SLA. This license was amended and restated in 2010. In November 2015, we entered into a separate agreement with IDRI to license a patent related to our GLAAS technology in the field of cancer. Under this agreement, we paid IDRI an upfront license fee in the amount of $250,000, which was recognized as research and development expense. Upon the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory milestones, we will be obligated to pay IDRI up to $250,000 and $125,000, respectively, for the first and each subsequent licensed product we develop. In December 2015, we entered into a Second Amended and Restated License Agreement with IDRI, in which we obtained additional rights under the licensed technology, which rights vary by disease indication, and we returned to IDRI certain previously licensed GLA rights in select, primarily developing-world infectious disease indications. We received an exclusive license for SLA products in oncology, human allergy and addiction, as well as an option to obtain additional exclusive licenses in select infectious disease indications. In December 2015, in connection with the execution of the second restated agreement, we paid an upfront fee of $2.3 million, which was recorded as research and development expense. We are obligated to pay IDRI up to $2.3 million and $1.3 million, respectively, in additional payments for the first and each subsequent exclusive licensed product we develop, and $1.3 million and $625,000, respectively, for the first and each subsequent non-exclusive licensed product we develop, based on the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory milestones. In addition, we will be obligated to pay certain commercialization milestones and royalty payments of single-digit percentage of net sales, if and when a licensed product is commercialized. We are also obligated to share with IDRI a percentage of payments received from any third-party sublicensees. Additionally, if we exercise our option for additional infectious disease indications, we will be required to make upfront, milestone and royalty payments for such additional indications, which payments are subject to similar terms and conditions as are applicable to other milestone and royalty payments. We recognized no IDRI license-related milestone fees for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $925,000 and $2.9 million in IDRI license-related milestone fees, which were expensed in research and development expenses, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. In 2009, we licensed certain patent rights directed to the production of dendritic cell-targeted therapeutic and prophylactic immunization strategies from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in exchange for shares of our common stock valued at $25,000. We made annual minimum royalty payments of $25,000 under the license until we recognized $100,000 in license-related milestone fees, which we expensed in research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017. No license-related milestone fees were recognized or paid for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. In addition, we agreed to pay certain fees in the future, including milestone payments upon achievement of certain development and commercialization milestones and royalty payments on net sales in the low single-digit percentage. We are required to pay Caltech up to an aggregate of $1.5 million in additional payments upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones. In June 2015, we entered into a clinical supply agreement with NanoPass for the use of their intradermal delivery device in certain of our clinical trials. See Note 9 for additional information. In October 2016, we entered into a license agreement with TheraVectys SA (TVS), pursuant to which we received a field limited, non-exclusive, sublicensable license for oncology uses to certain current and future intellectual property rights owned, controlled and licensed by TVS relating to lentiviral vector technologies. We will owe TVS milestone payments based on the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for each licensed product, in the aggregate amount of up to $5.8 million, except that the first two milestones payments are waived for CMB305/LV305. In addition, we will be obligated to pay a single commercial milestone payment for each product that achieves a specified net sales amount. We will owe royalties to TVS on product sales that are made directly by us or our affiliates, subject to certain royalty-offset provisions. For the first four products, including LV305/CMB305, royalties will be based on a low-single digit percentage of net sales, and for subsequent products, tiered royalties will be based on low-to-mid-single digit percentages of net sales. TVS will also receive a mid-single digit percentage of revenues that we receive for sublicensing the licensed intellectual property. Collaborations In October 2014, we entered into a collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur for the development of a Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) immune therapy. Sanofi Pasteur and Immune Design are each contributing product candidates to the collaboration: Sanofi Pasteur is contributing HSV-529, a clinical-stage replication-defective HSV vaccine product candidate, and we contribute G103, our preclinical trivalent vaccine product candidate. The collaboration will explore the potential of various combinations of agents, including leveraging our GLAAS platform, with the goal to select the best potential immune therapy for patients. Each company will develop the products jointly through Phase 2 clinical trials, at which point Sanofi Pasteur intends to continue development of the most promising candidate and be responsible for commercialization. Sanofi Pasteur will bear the costs of all preclinical and clinical development, with Immune Design providing a specific formulation of GLA from the GLAAS platform at its cost through Phase 2 studies. Immune Design will be eligible to receive future milestone and royalty payments on any licensed product developed from the collaboration. We recognize funding from collaborative research and development efforts as revenue as we perform or deliver the related services in accordance with contract terms as long as we will receive payment for such services upon standard payment terms. The costs of the related services performed are recorded as research and development expenses on the consolidated statement of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we recognized $6.9 million, $4.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively, in revenue under this collaboration arrangement. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we had an outstanding unbilled receivable of $605,000 and zero, respectively, and unearned revenue of zero and $2.5 million, respectively, under this collaboration arrangement. The unbilled receivable represents collaboration research services earned, but not yet billed to Sanofi Pasteur as of December 31, 2017.

License and Collaboration Agreements

Licenses Granted

In August 2014, we entered into an agreement with Sanofi under which we granted Sanofi an exclusive license for use of our GLAAS platform to discover, develop and commercialize products to treat peanut allergy. Sanofi may terminate the agreement at any time upon six months’ written notice. We recognized no milestone revenue under this agreement for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $7.0 million and $1.0 million in milestone revenue under this agreement for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. The agreement provides for additional payments of up to $160.0 million based upon the attainment of certain development and commercialization milestones and tiered royalties on sales of approved products.

We currently have two separate license agreements with MedImmune, LLC (MedImmune), entered into October 2010, pursuant to which we granted MedImmune a worldwide, sublicensable, exclusive license to use GLA to develop and sell vaccines in two different infectious disease indications. Under the license agreements, MedImmune is obligated to use commercially reasonable efforts to develop and obtain regulatory approval for a licensed product in certain markets and to market and sell licensed products in any country where it obtains regulatory approval. In 2010, MedImmune paid us upfront payments under the license agreements. Under each license agreement, MedImmune is obligated to make additional payments based on achievement of certain development, regulatory, and commercial milestones for the licensed indication. MedImmune is also obligated to pay us a low double-digit percentage share of non-royalty payments that it receives from sublicensees and a mid single-digit percentage royalty payment on net sales of licensed products, which royalty is subject to reduction under certain circumstances. Under each license agreement, MedImmune is obligated to make additional aggregate payments of $62.9 million to $72.5 million, depending on the infectious disease indication and the achievement of certain development, regulatory and commercial milestones for the licensed indication. We recognized no revenue for the achievement of development milestones under these license agreements for the years ended December 31, 2017 and 2016, and $2.5 million in milestone revenue for the year ended December 31, 2015.

Licenses Acquired

In July 2008, we licensed certain patent rights, know-how and technology related to our GLAAS platform from the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), specifically products and formulations containing GLA and another synthetic TLR 4 agonist referred to as SLA. This license was amended and restated in 2010. In November 2015, we entered into a separate agreement with IDRI to license a patent related to our GLAAS technology in the field of cancer. Under this agreement, we paid IDRI an upfront license fee in the amount of $250,000, which was recognized as research and development expense. Upon the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory milestones, we will be obligated to pay IDRI up to $250,000 and $125,000, respectively, for the first and each subsequent licensed product we develop.

In December 2015, we entered into a Second Amended and Restated License Agreement with IDRI, in which we obtained additional rights under the licensed technology, which rights vary by disease indication, and we returned to IDRI certain previously licensed GLA rights in select, primarily developing-world infectious disease indications. We received an exclusive license for SLA products in oncology, human allergy and addiction, as well as an option to obtain additional exclusive licenses in select infectious disease indications. In December 2015, in connection with the execution of the second restated agreement, we paid an upfront fee of $2.3 million, which was recorded as research and development expense. We are obligated to pay IDRI up to $2.3 million and $1.3 million, respectively, in additional payments for the first and each subsequent exclusive licensed product we develop, and $1.3 million and $625,000, respectively, for the first and each subsequent non-exclusive licensed product we develop, based on the achievement of certain developmental and regulatory milestones. In addition, we will be obligated to pay certain commercialization milestones and royalty payments of single-digit percentage of net sales, if and when a licensed product is commercialized. We are also obligated to share with IDRI a percentage of payments received from any third-party sublicensees. Additionally, if we exercise our option for additional infectious disease indications, we will be required to make upfront, milestone and royalty payments for such additional indications, which payments are subject to similar terms and conditions as are applicable to other milestone and royalty payments.

We recognized no IDRI license-related milestone fees for the year ended December 31, 2017, and $925,000 and $2.9 million in IDRI license-related milestone fees, which were expensed in research and development expenses, for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively.

In 2009, we licensed certain patent rights directed to the production of dendritic cell-targeted therapeutic and prophylactic immunization strategies from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) in exchange for shares of our common stock valued at $25,000. We made annual minimum royalty payments of $25,000 under the license until we recognized $100,000 in license-related milestone fees, which we expensed in research and development expenses for the year ended December 31, 2017. No license-related milestone fees were recognized or paid for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015. In addition, we agreed to pay certain fees in the future, including milestone payments upon achievement of certain development and commercialization milestones and royalty payments on net sales in the low single-digit percentage. We are required to pay Caltech up to an aggregate of $1.5 million in additional payments upon the achievement of certain regulatory and sales milestones.

In June 2015, we entered into a clinical supply agreement with NanoPass for the use of their intradermal delivery device in certain of our clinical trials. See Note 9 for additional information.

In October 2016, we entered into a license agreement with TheraVectys SA (TVS), pursuant to which we received a field limited, non-exclusive, sublicensable license for oncology uses to certain current and future intellectual property rights owned, controlled and licensed by TVS relating to lentiviral vector technologies. We will owe TVS milestone payments based on the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones for each licensed product, in the aggregate amount of up to $5.8 million, except that the first two milestones payments are waived for CMB305/LV305. In addition, we will be obligated to pay a single commercial milestone payment for each product that achieves a specified net sales amount. We will owe royalties to TVS on product sales that are made directly by us or our affiliates, subject to certain royalty-offset provisions. For the first four products, including LV305/CMB305, royalties will be based on a low-single digit percentage of net sales, and for subsequent products, tiered royalties will be based on low-to-mid-single digit percentages of net sales. TVS will also receive a mid-single digit percentage of revenues that we receive for sublicensing the licensed intellectual property.

Collaborations

In October 2014, we entered into a collaboration with Sanofi Pasteur for the development of a Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) immune therapy. Sanofi Pasteur and Immune Design are each contributing product candidates to the collaboration: Sanofi Pasteur is contributing HSV-529, a clinical-stage replication-defective HSV vaccine product candidate, and we contribute G103, our preclinical trivalent vaccine product candidate. The collaboration will explore the potential of various combinations of agents, including leveraging our GLAAS platform, with the goal to select the best potential immune therapy for patients. Each company will develop the products jointly through Phase 2 clinical trials, at which point Sanofi Pasteur intends to continue development of the most promising candidate and be responsible for commercialization. Sanofi Pasteur will bear the costs of all preclinical and clinical development, with Immune Design providing a specific formulation of GLA from the GLAAS platform at its cost through Phase 2 studies. Immune Design will be eligible to receive future milestone and royalty payments on any licensed product developed from the collaboration.

We recognize funding from collaborative research and development efforts as revenue as we perform or deliver the related services in accordance with contract terms as long as we will receive payment for such services upon standard payment terms. The costs of the related services performed are recorded as research and development expenses on the consolidated statement of operations. For the years ended December 31, 2017, 2016 and 2015, we recognized $6.9 million, $4.6 million and $4.2 million, respectively, in revenue under this collaboration arrangement. As of December 31, 2017 and 2016, we had an outstanding unbilled receivable of $605,000 and zero, respectively, and unearned revenue of zero and $2.5 million, respectively, under this collaboration arrangement. The unbilled receivable represents collaboration research services earned, but not yet billed to Sanofi Pasteur as of December 31, 2017.