LICENSE AGREEMENTS	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2018
License Agreement Disclosure [Abstract]
LICENSE AGREEMENTS	4. LICENSE AGREEMENTS Janssen Biotech, Inc. Collaboration and License Agreement On November 13, 2014, we and Janssen entered into the Collaboration Agreement under which we granted to Janssen exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize imetelstat for all human therapeutic uses, including hematologic myeloid malignancies. Upon the effectiveness of the Collaboration Agreement, we received $35,000,000 from Janssen as an upfront payment, which we classified as deferred revenue upon receipt. Under the Collaboration Agreement, Janssen was wholly responsible for the development, manufacturing, seeking regulatory approval for and commercialization of, imetelstat worldwide. Janssen has been conducting two clinical trials of imetelstat: a Phase 2 trial in myelofibrosis, referred to as IMbark, and a Phase 2/3 trial in myelodysplastic syndromes, referred to as IMerge. Development costs for IMbark and IMerge were shared between us and Janssen on a 50/50 basis. Additionally, under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, we remained responsible for prosecuting, at Janssen’s direction, the patents licensed to Janssen at the time we entered into the Collaboration Agreement, with costs shared between us and Janssen on a 50/50 basis. The cost‑sharing arrangement with Janssen began in January 2015. Janssen terminated the Collaboration Agreement effective September 28, 2018. Upon the effective date of termination, we regained the global rights to the imetelstat program and plan to continue development of imetelstat on our own. As a result of the termination of the Collaboration Agreement, we will not receive any further milestone payments or royalties from Janssen for the development or commercialization of imetelstat, including any clinical development or sales milestones, and Janssen has no further obligations to us or any third parties, such as clinical sites or vendors, to fund any potential future imetelstat clinical trials. Under the termination provisions of the Collaboration Agreement, Janssen is required to provide certain operational support for the imetelstat program during transition of the program to us. The transition process is expected to occur through September 2019 to enable the orderly transfer of all ongoing clinical, regulatory, medical affairs and non-clinical activities to us, including the transfer of the sponsorship of ongoing imetelstat clinical trials from Janssen to us. Each company is responsible for costs incurred related to transition activities unless otherwise specified in the Collaboration Agreement. In addition, Janssen is expected to supply imetelstat to us for up to 24 months during a transition period for clinical manufacturing and such supply will be charged to us at Janssen’s cost plus a premium. Until the sponsorship responsibilities for imetelstat transfer from Janssen to us, including the U.S. Investigational New Drug, or IND, application and all foreign regulatory applications, Janssen will continue conducting ongoing clinical trials of imetelstat. After September 28, 2018, the effective termination date of the Collaboration Agreement, our responsibility for imetelstat development costs, including continuing conduct of ongoing clinical trials of imetelstat, and costs for the prosecution of patents that were licensed to Janssen under the Collaboration Agreement increased from 50% to 100%. As of December 31, 2018, the amount due to Janssen of $2,610,000 on our balance sheet primarily represents the amount owed to Janssen for operational support of the imetelstat program for the three months ended December 31, 2018. Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. License Agreement On September 15, 2016, we entered into the License Agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals whereby we granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals an exclusive worldwide license, or the Exclusive License, under our proprietary patents for the research, development and commercialization of products based on specialized oligonucleotide backbone chemistry and novel amidates for ribonucleic acid interference, or RNAi, for the prevention, treatment and/or diagnosis of any and all human disorders, excluding cancers originating from the blood or bone marrow, and products whose predominant or primary mechanism of action is telomerase inhibition. In addition to the Exclusive License, we granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals a non‑exclusive worldwide license, or the Non‑Exclusive License, under our patents covering the synthesis of monomers, which are the building blocks of oligonucleotides, and certain know‑how necessary for the research, development and commercialization of products under the Exclusive License. Under the terms of the License Agreement, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, at its sole expense, is required to use reasonable efforts to perform research, development and commercialization activities to obtain at least one licensed product to be researched, developed and commercialized under the License Agreement. We remain responsible for prosecuting the patent rights under the Exclusive License, with reasonable input provided by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and the costs for such prosecution will be shared between us and Janssen Pharmaceuticals on a 50/50 basis. Under the terms of the License Agreement, we received $5,000,000 from Janssen Pharmaceuticals as a non‑refundable upfront payment. We are also eligible to receive additional potential payments of up to an aggregate maximum total of $75,000,000 for the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and tiered royalties in the low single digit percentage range on worldwide net sales of each licensed product commercialized under the License Agreement in any countries where there are valid claims under the patent rights licensed to Janssen Pharmaceuticals. The License Agreement will remain in effect until the expiration of the last‑to‑expire patent, unless terminated earlier. Janssen Pharmaceuticals may also terminate the License Agreement at will upon prior written notice to us. In the event of an early termination of the License Agreement, all licenses to Janssen Pharmaceuticals would terminate. The license rights granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals are the only performance obligation for us under the License Agreement. In addition, we concluded that Janssen Pharmaceuticals can use and benefit from the license rights without any further performance from us due to their specific knowledge of oligonucleotide chemistry, and sufficient capital to independently research, develop and commercialize products under the License Agreement on a global basis. Accordingly, we fully recognized the $5,000,000 upfront payment from Janssen Pharmaceuticals as license fee revenue on our statements of operations in the third quarter of 2016 upon the completion of the transfer of the license rights to Janssen Pharmaceuticals. We have determined that each of the additional potential development and regulatory milestone payments to us under the License Agreement represent fully constrained variable consideration under Topic 606 as achievement of these milestones has not been deemed probable as of December 31, 2018. Consequently, we will recognize revenue for each of these payments in their entirety once the assessment of probability of achievement of the related milestone becomes probable. Royalties on potential future product sales under the License Agreement will be recognized as revenue when the related sales occur.

LICENSE AGREEMENTS

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2018

License Agreement Disclosure [Abstract]

4. LICENSE AGREEMENTS

Janssen Biotech, Inc. Collaboration and License Agreement

On November 13, 2014, we and Janssen entered into the Collaboration Agreement under which we granted to Janssen exclusive worldwide rights to develop and commercialize imetelstat for all human therapeutic uses, including hematologic myeloid malignancies. Upon the effectiveness of the Collaboration Agreement, we received $35,000,000 from Janssen as an upfront payment, which we classified as deferred revenue upon receipt.

Under the Collaboration Agreement, Janssen was wholly responsible for the development, manufacturing, seeking regulatory approval for and commercialization of, imetelstat worldwide. Janssen has been conducting two clinical trials of imetelstat: a Phase 2 trial in myelofibrosis, referred to as IMbark, and a Phase 2/3 trial in myelodysplastic syndromes, referred to as IMerge. Development costs for IMbark and IMerge were shared between us and Janssen on a 50/50 basis. Additionally, under the terms of the Collaboration Agreement, we remained responsible for prosecuting, at Janssen’s direction, the patents licensed to Janssen at the time we entered into the Collaboration Agreement, with costs shared between us and Janssen on a 50/50 basis. The cost‑sharing arrangement with Janssen began in January 2015.

Janssen terminated the Collaboration Agreement effective September 28, 2018. Upon the effective date of termination, we regained the global rights to the imetelstat program and plan to continue development of imetelstat on our own. As a result of the termination of the Collaboration Agreement, we will not receive any further milestone payments or royalties from Janssen for the development or commercialization of imetelstat, including any clinical development or sales milestones, and Janssen has no further obligations to us or any third parties, such as clinical sites or vendors, to fund any potential future imetelstat clinical trials. Under the termination provisions of the Collaboration Agreement, Janssen is required to provide certain operational support for the imetelstat program during transition of the program to us. The transition process is expected to occur through September 2019 to enable the orderly transfer of all ongoing clinical, regulatory, medical affairs and non-clinical activities to us, including the transfer of the sponsorship of ongoing imetelstat clinical trials from Janssen to us. Each company is responsible for costs incurred related to transition activities unless otherwise specified in the Collaboration Agreement. In addition, Janssen is expected to supply imetelstat to us for up to 24 months during a transition period for clinical manufacturing and such supply will be charged to us at Janssen’s cost plus a premium. Until the sponsorship responsibilities for imetelstat transfer from Janssen to us, including the U.S. Investigational New Drug, or IND, application and all foreign regulatory applications, Janssen will continue conducting ongoing clinical trials of imetelstat. After September 28, 2018, the effective termination date of the Collaboration Agreement, our responsibility for imetelstat development costs, including continuing conduct of ongoing clinical trials of imetelstat, and costs for the prosecution of patents that were licensed to Janssen under the Collaboration Agreement increased from 50% to 100%. As of December 31, 2018, the amount due to Janssen of $2,610,000 on our balance sheet primarily represents the amount owed to Janssen for operational support of the imetelstat program for the three months ended December 31, 2018.

Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. License Agreement

On September 15, 2016, we entered into the License Agreement with Janssen Pharmaceuticals whereby we granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals an exclusive worldwide license, or the Exclusive License, under our proprietary patents for the research, development and commercialization of products based on specialized oligonucleotide backbone chemistry and novel amidates for ribonucleic acid interference, or RNAi, for the prevention, treatment and/or diagnosis of any and all human disorders, excluding cancers originating from the blood or bone marrow, and products whose predominant or primary mechanism of action is telomerase inhibition.

In addition to the Exclusive License, we granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals a non‑exclusive worldwide license, or the Non‑Exclusive License, under our patents covering the synthesis of monomers, which are the building blocks of oligonucleotides, and certain know‑how necessary for the research, development and commercialization of products under the Exclusive License.

Under the terms of the License Agreement, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, at its sole expense, is required to use reasonable efforts to perform research, development and commercialization activities to obtain at least one licensed product to be researched, developed and commercialized under the License Agreement. We remain responsible for prosecuting the patent rights under the Exclusive License, with reasonable input provided by Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and the costs for such prosecution will be shared between us and Janssen Pharmaceuticals on a 50/50 basis.

Under the terms of the License Agreement, we received $5,000,000 from Janssen Pharmaceuticals as a non‑refundable upfront payment. We are also eligible to receive additional potential payments of up to an aggregate maximum total of $75,000,000 for the achievement of certain development and regulatory milestones and tiered royalties in the low single digit percentage range on worldwide net sales of each licensed product commercialized under the License Agreement in any countries where there are valid claims under the patent rights licensed to Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

The License Agreement will remain in effect until the expiration of the last‑to‑expire patent, unless terminated earlier. Janssen Pharmaceuticals may also terminate the License Agreement at will upon prior written notice to us. In the event of an early termination of the License Agreement, all licenses to Janssen Pharmaceuticals would terminate.

The license rights granted to Janssen Pharmaceuticals are the only performance obligation for us under the License Agreement. In addition, we concluded that Janssen Pharmaceuticals can use and benefit from the license rights without any further performance from us due to their specific knowledge of oligonucleotide chemistry, and sufficient capital to independently research, develop and commercialize products under the License Agreement on a global basis. Accordingly, we fully recognized the $5,000,000 upfront payment from Janssen Pharmaceuticals as license fee revenue on our statements of operations in the third quarter of 2016 upon the completion of the transfer of the license rights to Janssen Pharmaceuticals.

We have determined that each of the additional potential development and regulatory milestone payments to us under the License Agreement represent fully constrained variable consideration under Topic 606 as achievement of these milestones has not been deemed probable as of December 31, 2018. Consequently, we will recognize revenue for each of these payments in their entirety once the assessment of probability of achievement of the related milestone becomes probable. Royalties on potential future product sales under the License Agreement will be recognized as revenue when the related sales occur.