Organization	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Organization	Organization Vericel Corporation, a Michigan corporation (together with its consolidated subsidiaries referred to herein as the Company, Vericel, we, us or our), was incorporated in March 1989 and began employee-based operations in 1991. On May 30, 2014, Vericel completed the acquisition of certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Sanofi, a French société anonyme (Sanofi), including all of the outstanding equity interests of Genzyme Biosurgery ApS (Genzyme Denmark or the Danish subsidiary) (now known as Vericel Denmark ApS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanofi, and a portfolio of patents and patent applications of Sanofi and certain of its subsidiaries for purposes of acquiring the portion of the cell therapy and regenerative medicine business (the CTRM Business), related to the MACI^®, Carticel^® and Epicel^® products. The Company is a fully integrated, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and currently markets MACI^® and Epicel^® in the U.S. The Company is a leader in advanced cell therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care markets. MACI^® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is an autologous cellularized scaffold product indicated for the repair of symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults that was approved by the FDA on December 13, 2016. The first shipment and implantation of MACI occurred on January 31, 2017. At the end of the second quarter of 2017, the Company removed Carticel^® (autologous cultured chondrocytes), an earlier generation ACI product, from the market. The Company also markets Epicel^® (cultured epidermal autografts), a permanent skin replacement Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns comprising greater than or equal to 30 percent of total body surface area (TBSA). The Company operates its business primarily in the U.S. in 1 reportable segment — the research, product development, manufacture and distribution of cellular therapies for use in the treatment of specific diseases. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that the Company will continue as a going concern and contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. As of December 31, 2018, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $369.0 million and had a net loss of $8.1 million during 2018. The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $18.3 million and short term investments of $64.6 million as of December 31, 2018. On December 19, 2018, the Company terminated and prepaid in full all outstanding indebtedness under the Loan and Security Agreement dated as of September 9, 2016 as amended, by and between the Company, Silicon Valley Bank as Agent and Silicon Valley Bank, MidCap Financial Trust, MidCap Funding III Trust (SVB and MidCap) and other lenders listed therein as lenders (SVB Loan Agreement). The Company expects that existing cash, cash equivalents and short term investments will be sufficient to support the Company's current operations through at least February 2020. The Company may seek additional funding through debt or equity financings. However, the Company may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms or at all. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of the Company's shareholders.

Organization

Vericel Corporation, a Michigan corporation (together with its consolidated subsidiaries referred to herein as the Company, Vericel, we, us or our), was incorporated in March 1989 and began employee-based operations in 1991. On May 30, 2014, Vericel completed the acquisition of certain assets and assumed certain liabilities of Sanofi, a French société anonyme (Sanofi), including all of the outstanding equity interests of Genzyme Biosurgery ApS (Genzyme Denmark or the Danish subsidiary) (now known as Vericel Denmark ApS), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sanofi, and a portfolio of patents and patent applications of Sanofi and certain of its subsidiaries for purposes of acquiring the portion of the cell therapy and regenerative medicine business (the CTRM Business), related to the MACI^®, Carticel^® and Epicel^® products. The Company is a fully integrated, commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company and currently markets MACI^® and Epicel^® in the U.S. The Company is a leader in advanced cell therapies for the sports medicine and severe burn care markets. MACI^® (autologous cultured chondrocytes on porcine collagen membrane) is an autologous cellularized scaffold product indicated for the repair of symptomatic, single or multiple full-thickness cartilage defects of the knee with or without bone involvement in adults that was approved by the FDA on December 13, 2016. The first shipment and implantation of MACI occurred on January 31, 2017. At the end of the second quarter of 2017, the Company removed Carticel^® (autologous cultured chondrocytes), an earlier generation ACI product, from the market. The Company also markets Epicel^® (cultured epidermal autografts), a permanent skin replacement Humanitarian Use Device (HUD) for the treatment of adult and pediatric patients with deep-dermal or full-thickness burns comprising greater than or equal to 30 percent of total body surface area (TBSA). The Company operates its business primarily in the U.S. in 1 reportable segment — the research, product development, manufacture and distribution of cellular therapies for use in the treatment of specific diseases.

The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that the Company will continue as a going concern and contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. As of December 31, 2018, the Company has an accumulated deficit of $369.0 million and had a net loss of $8.1 million during 2018. The Company had cash and cash equivalents of $18.3 million and short term investments of $64.6 million as of December 31, 2018. On December 19, 2018, the Company terminated and prepaid in full all outstanding indebtedness under the Loan and Security Agreement dated as of September 9, 2016 as amended, by and between the Company, Silicon Valley Bank as Agent and Silicon Valley Bank, MidCap Financial Trust, MidCap Funding III Trust (SVB and MidCap) and other lenders listed therein as lenders (SVB Loan Agreement). The Company expects that existing cash, cash equivalents and short term investments will be sufficient to support the Company's current operations through at least February 2020. The Company may seek additional funding through debt or equity financings. However, the Company may not be able to obtain financing on acceptable terms or at all. The terms of any financing may adversely affect the holdings or the rights of the Company's shareholders.