Equipment, net and construction in progress

3 Months Ended

Mar. 31, 2015

Equipment, net, and construction in progress [Abstract]

Equipment, net, and construction in progress

4. Equipment, net and construction in progress

At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, equipment, furniture and fixtures, and construction in progress were comprised of the following:

	March 31, 2015 (Unaudited)			December 31, 2014
Equipment, furniture and fixtures	$	4,928,857		$	4,870,516
Construction in progress		606,641			405,730
Accumulated depreciation		(2,670,829	)		(2,418,400	)
Equipment net, and construction in progress	$	2,864,669		$	2,857,846

Equipment, furniture and fixtures, and construction in progress at March 31, 2015 include $115,000 financed by capital lease borrowings in June 2014 and $606,641 of construction in progress for Asterias’ Fremont facility. Depreciation expense amounted to $262,600 and $256,945 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The difference between the depreciation expense recognized in the consolidated statement of operations and the increase in accumulated depreciation of $252,429 in the consolidated balance sheet is partially attributed to the sale of partially depreciated assets and foreign currency rates.

Construction in progress

Construction in progress of $606,641 as of March 31, 2015 entirely relates to the improvements for Asterias' Fremont facility. Under the terms of the lease agreement, the landlord has provided Asterias with a tenant improvement allowance of $4,400,000, which Asterias is using to construct a laboratory and production facility that can be used to produce human embryonic stem cell and related products under cGMP. Of the $606,641, $560,970 qualify for reimbursement under the tenant improvement allowance. As of March 31, 2015, we received $283,764 from the landlord. The facility is expected to be substantially completed and placed into service in the third quarter of 2015.