ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2015
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION	(1) ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION GenVec, Inc. (GenVec, we, our, or the Company) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with an entrepreneurial focus on leveraging its proprietary AdenoVerse™ gene delivery platform to develop a pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutics and vaccines. The Company is a pioneer in the design, testing and manufacture of adenoviral-based product candidates that can deliver on the promise of gene-based medicine. GenVec’s lead product candidate, CGF166, is licensed to Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. (together with Novartis AG and its subsidiary corporations, including Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis) and is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders. In addition to our internal and partnered pipeline, we also focus on opportunities to license our proprietary technology platform, including vectors and production cell lines to potential collaborators in the biopharmaceutical industry for the development and manufacture of therapeutics and vaccines. A key component of our strategy is to develop and commercialize our product candidates through collaborations. GenVec is working with prominent companies and organizations such as Novartis, Merial Limited, and the U.S. government, as well as promising young companies such as TheraBiologics, to support a portfolio of programs that address the prevention and treatment of a number of significant human and animal health concerns. GenVec’s combination of internal and partnered development programs addresses therapeutic areas such as hearing loss and balance disorders and oncology; as well as vaccines against infectious diseases including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and malaria. In the area of animal health we are developing vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD). Our AdenoVerse gene delivery technology has the important advantage of localizing protein delivery in the body. This is accomplished by using our adenovector platform to locally deliver genes to cells, which then direct production of the desired protein. This approach reduces side effects typically associated with systemic delivery of proteins. For therapeutics, the goal is for the protein produced to have meaningful effect in treating the cause, manifestation, or progression of the disease. For vaccines, the goal is to induce an immune response against a target protein or antigen. This is accomplished by using an adenovector to deliver a gene that causes production of an antigen, which then stimulates the desired immune reaction by the body. Our research and development activities yield product candidates that utilize our technology platform and represent potential commercial opportunities. For example, preclinical research in hearing loss and balance disorders indicates that the delivery of the atonal gene using GenVec’s adenovector technology may have the potential to restore hearing and balance function. We are currently working with Novartis on the development of novel treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders that emerged from these research and development efforts. There are currently no effective therapeutic treatments available for patients who have lost all balance function, and hearing loss remains a major unmet medical problem. We have multiple vaccine candidates that leverage our core adenovector technology including our preclinical vaccine candidates for the prevention or treatment of RSV and HSV. We also have a program to develop a vaccine for malaria, a program in which we are currently working in collaboration with the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology (LMIV) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. In the field of animal health, we are working with Merial Limited to commercialize vaccines for the prevention of a major animal health problem, FMD. Development efforts for this program were supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and performed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). Our business strategy is focused on entering into collaborative arrangements with third parties to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates. In the event that third parties take over the development for one or more of our product candidates, the estimated completion date would largely be under the control of that third party rather than us. We cannot forecast with any degree of certainty which proprietary products or indications, if any, will be subject to future collaborative arrangements, in whole or in part, or how such arrangements would affect our development plan or capital requirements. Our programs may also benefit from subsidies, grants or government or agency-sponsored studies that could reduce our development costs. An element of our business strategy is to pursue, as resources permit, the research and development of a range of product candidates for a variety of indications. This is intended to allow us to diversify the risks associated with our research and development expenditures. To the extent we are unable to maintain a broad range of product candidates, our dependence on the success of one or a few product candidates would increase. As a result of the uncertainties involved in our business, we are unable to estimate the duration and completion costs of our research and development projects or when, if ever, and to what extent we will receive cash inflows from the commercialization and sale of a product. Our inability to complete our research and development projects in a timely manner or our failure to enter into collaborative agreements, when appropriate, could significantly increase our capital requirements and could adversely impact our liquidity. These uncertainties could force us to seek additional, external sources of financing from time to time in order to continue with our business strategy. Our inability to raise additional capital, or to do so on terms reasonably acceptable to us, would jeopardize the future success of our business. Our estimated future capital requirements are uncertain and could change materially as a result of many factors, including the progress of our research, development, clinical, manufacturing, and commercialization activities. However we believe our current cash and investments and committed and expected revenues from our strategic collaborations are expected to be sufficient to continue our current research, development and collaborative activities into the second quarter of 2017.

ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

(1) ORGANIZATION AND BUSINESS DESCRIPTION

GenVec, Inc. (GenVec, we, our, or the Company) is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company with an entrepreneurial focus on leveraging its proprietary AdenoVerse™ gene delivery platform to develop a pipeline of cutting-edge therapeutics and vaccines. The Company is a pioneer in the design, testing and manufacture of adenoviral-based product candidates that can deliver on the promise of gene-based medicine. GenVec’s lead product candidate, CGF166, is licensed to Novartis Institutes for BioMedical Research, Inc. (together with Novartis AG and its subsidiary corporations, including Novartis Pharma AG, Novartis) and is currently in a Phase 1/2 clinical study for the treatment of hearing loss and balance disorders. In addition to our internal and partnered pipeline, we also focus on opportunities to license our proprietary technology platform, including vectors and production cell lines to potential collaborators in the biopharmaceutical industry for the development and manufacture of therapeutics and vaccines.

A key component of our strategy is to develop and commercialize our product candidates through collaborations. GenVec is working with prominent companies and organizations such as Novartis, Merial Limited, and the U.S. government, as well as promising young companies such as TheraBiologics, to support a portfolio of programs that address the prevention and treatment of a number of significant human and animal health concerns. GenVec’s combination of internal and partnered development programs addresses therapeutic areas such as hearing loss and balance disorders and oncology; as well as vaccines against infectious diseases including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), herpes simplex virus (HSV) and malaria. In the area of animal health we are developing vaccines against foot-and-mouth disease (FMD).

Our AdenoVerse gene delivery technology has the important advantage of localizing protein delivery in the body. This is accomplished by using our adenovector platform to locally deliver genes to cells, which then direct production of the desired protein. This approach reduces side effects typically associated with systemic delivery of proteins. For therapeutics, the goal is for the protein produced to have meaningful effect in treating the cause, manifestation, or progression of the disease. For vaccines, the goal is to induce an immune response against a target protein or antigen. This is accomplished by using an adenovector to deliver a gene that causes production of an antigen, which then stimulates the desired immune reaction by the body.

Our research and development activities yield product candidates that utilize our technology platform and represent potential commercial opportunities. For example, preclinical research in hearing loss and balance disorders indicates that the delivery of the atonal gene using GenVec’s adenovector technology may have the potential to restore hearing and balance function. We are currently working with Novartis on the development of novel treatments for hearing loss and balance disorders that emerged from these research and development efforts. There are currently no effective therapeutic treatments available for patients who have lost all balance function, and hearing loss remains a major unmet medical problem.

We have multiple vaccine candidates that leverage our core adenovector technology including our preclinical vaccine candidates for the prevention or treatment of RSV and HSV. We also have a program to develop a vaccine for malaria, a program in which we are currently working in collaboration with the Laboratory of Malaria Immunology and Vaccinology (LMIV) of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health. In the field of animal health, we are working with Merial Limited to commercialize vaccines for the prevention of a major animal health problem, FMD. Development efforts for this program were supported by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and performed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Our business strategy is focused on entering into collaborative arrangements with third parties to complete the development and commercialization of our product candidates. In the event that third parties take over the development for one or more of our product candidates, the estimated completion date would largely be under the control of that third party rather than us. We cannot forecast with any degree of certainty which proprietary products or indications, if any, will be subject to future collaborative arrangements, in whole or in part, or how such arrangements would affect our development plan or capital requirements. Our programs may also benefit from subsidies, grants or government or agency-sponsored studies that could reduce our development costs.

An element of our business strategy is to pursue, as resources permit, the research and development of a range of product candidates for a variety of indications. This is intended to allow us to diversify the risks associated with our research and development expenditures. To the extent we are unable to maintain a broad range of product candidates, our dependence on the success of one or a few product candidates would increase.

As a result of the uncertainties involved in our business, we are unable to estimate the duration and completion costs of our research and development projects or when, if ever, and to what extent we will receive cash inflows from the commercialization and sale of a product. Our inability to complete our research and development projects in a timely manner or our failure to enter into collaborative agreements, when appropriate, could significantly increase our capital requirements and could adversely impact our liquidity. These uncertainties could force us to seek additional, external sources of financing from time to time in order to continue with our business strategy. Our inability to raise additional capital, or to do so on terms reasonably acceptable to us, would jeopardize the future success of our business. Our estimated future capital requirements are uncertain and could change materially as a result of many factors, including the progress of our research, development, clinical, manufacturing, and commercialization activities. However we believe our current cash and investments and committed and expected revenues from our strategic collaborations are expected to be sufficient to continue our current research, development and collaborative activities into the second quarter of 2017.