Organization

9 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Organization, Collaboration and License Agreements [Abstract]

Organization

(1) Organization

Idera Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Idera” or the “Company”) is a clinical stage biotechnology company engaged in the discovery and development of novel synthetic DNA- and RNA- based drug candidates. The Company is developing drug candidates that are designed to modulate immune responses mediated through Toll-like Receptors, or TLRs. The Company believes that the modulation of immune responses through TLRs provides a rationale for the development of drug candidates to treat a broad range of diseases. The Company also has created gene silencing oligonucleotides, or GSOs, which inhibit the production of disease-associated proteins by targeting RNA. The Company believes that its GSO technology provides it with a platform from which drug candidates for diverse disease indications can be developed.

TLRs are specific receptors present in immune system cells. Using a chemistry-based approach, the Company has created synthetic DNA- and RNA-based compounds that are targeted to TLRs 3, 7, 8, and 9. A TLR agonist is a compound that stimulates an immune response through the targeted TLR. A TLR antagonist is a compound that blocks activation of an immune response through the targeted TLR. Drug candidates are compounds that the Company is developing and that have not been approved for any commercial use.

The Company is focusing its internal development efforts on IMO-3100 and IMO-8400, its two TLR-targeted candidates for autoimmune and inflammatory diseases. The Company also is collaborating with Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp. (formerly Merck & Co., Inc.), which is referred to herein as Merck, for the use of agonists of TLRs 7, 8, and 9 as vaccine adjuvants for cancer, infectious diseases, and Alzheimer’s disease. The Company is seeking to enter into collaborative alliances with pharmaceutical companies to advance its TLR-targeted programs in oncology, infectious diseases, respiratory diseases and the use of TLR3 agonists as vaccine adjuvants, as well as applications of its GSO technology platform.

At September 30, 2012, the Company had an accumulated deficit of $390,860,000. The Company expects to incur substantial operating losses in future periods. The Company does not expect to generate significant funds or product revenue until it successfully completes development and obtains marketing approval for drug candidates, either alone or in collaborations with third parties, which it expects will take a number of years. In order to commercialize its drug candidates, the Company needs to address a number of technological challenges and to comply with comprehensive regulatory requirements.

The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $8,352,000 at September 30, 2012. The Company believes that its existing cash and cash equivalents, together with the proceeds raised from a private placement of its securities in November 2012 (see Note 13), will be sufficient to fund its operations at least into the third quarter of 2013 based on its current operating plan, including the completion of its ongoing Phase 2 clinical trial of IMO-3100 in patients with psoriasis that it initiated in April 2012, the completion of the Phase 1 clinical trial of IMO-8400 in healthy subjects, which the Company expects to announce the initiation of in the fourth quarter of 2012, and preparations for the further advancement of its autoimmune disease program in at least two indications. The Company will need to raise additional funds in order to conduct any additional clinical development or to operate its business beyond such time. Additional financing may not be available to the Company in this time frame in the amounts the Company needs or on terms that are acceptable to the Company.

The Company is subject to a number of risks and uncertainties similar to those of other companies of the same size within the biotechnology industry, such as uncertainty of clinical trial outcomes, uncertainty of additional funding, and history of operating losses.