Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Aug. 31, 2012 Corporate Headquarters In Pasadena	Sep. 30, 2014 Research Facility in Madison	Sep. 30, 2014 Research Facility in Madison Assets Held under Capital Leases
Other Commitments [Line Items]
Rental expense				$ 23,000	$ 25,000
Operating lease expiration date				Sep. 30, 2019	Feb. 28, 2019
Percentage of increase in annual rental cost				3.00%
Rental expenses include common area maintenance and real estate taxes					16,000
Utilities costs per month					15,000
Monthly payments under capital lease						19,000
Increase in total monthly expenditures					75,000
Facility and equipment rent expense	554,000	534,000	480,000
Provision for recorded liabilities	0
Future commitments	21,400,000
Commitments expected to be incurred in fiscal 2015	19,500,000
Commitments expected to be incurred beyond fiscal 2015	$ 1,900,000