YIELD10 Bioscience (YTENQ) 10-K 30 Mar 17 2016 FY Annual report Financial data

Document and Entity Information

Document and Entity Information - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 17, 2017	Jun. 30, 2016
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	YIELD10 BIOSCIENCE, INC.
Entity Central Index Key	1,121,702
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Document Type	10-K
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2016
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2,016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Amendment Flag	false
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		28,402,471
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 7,869,303

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Current Assets:
Cash and cash equivalents	$ 7,309	$ 12,269
Accounts receivable	66	238
Due from related parties	1	146
Unbilled receivables	121	150
Inventory	0	51
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	363	1,668
Assets of disposal group classified as held for sale	0	328
Total current assets	7,860	14,850
Restricted cash	432	619
Property and equipment, net	1,739	105
Deferred equity financing costs	622	619
Other assets	95	95
Other assets of disposal group classified as held for sale	0	800
Total assets	10,748	17,088
Current Liabilities:
Accounts payable	56	120
Accrued expenses	2,702	3,513
Deferred revenue	0	277
Total current liabilities	2,758	3,910
Lease incentive obligation, net of current portion	1,132	0
Contract termination obligation, net of current portion (Note 14)	489	0
Other long-term liabilities	0	150
Total liabilities	4,379	4,060
Commitments and contingencies (Note 7)
Stockholders' Equity:
Preferred stock ($0.01 par value per share); 5,000,000 shares authorized; no shares issued or outstanding	0	0
Common stock ($0.01 par value per share); 250,000,000 shares authorized at December 31, 2016; 28,342,625 and 27,331,435 shares issued and outstanding at December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively	283	273
Additional paid-in capital	339,527	338,580
Accumulated other comprehensive loss	(84)	(72)
Accumulated deficit	(333,357)	(325,753)
Total stockholders' equity	6,369	13,028
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity	$ 10,748	$ 17,088

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Pa

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (Parenthetical) - $ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Statement of Financial Position [Abstract]
Preferred stock, par value per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	0	0
Common stock, par value per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Common stock, shares authorized	250,000,000	250,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	28,342,625	27,331,435
Common stock, shares outstanding	28,342,625	27,331,435

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPER

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Revenue:
Grant revenue	$ 1,159	$ 1,350
Total revenue	1,159	1,350
Expenses:
Research and development	5,670	6,602
General and administrative	5,737	7,217
Total expenses	11,407	13,819
Loss from continuing operations	(10,248)	(12,469)
Other income (expense), net	(38)	29
Net loss from continuing operations before income tax benefit	(10,286)	(12,440)
Income tax benefit	1,097
Net loss from continuing operations	(9,189)	(12,440)
Discontinued operations
Income (loss) from discontinued operations	2,682	(11,241)
Income tax provision	(1,097)	0
Total net income (loss) from discontinued operations	1,585	(11,241)
Net loss	$ (7,604)	$ (23,681)
Basic and Diluted net loss per share:
Net loss from continuing operations (in dollars per share)	$ (0.33)	$ (0.50)
Net loss from discontinued operations (in dollars per share)	0.06	(0.45)
Net loss per share (in dollars per share)	$ (0.27)	$ (0.95)
Number of shares used in per share calculations:
Basic & Diluted (in shares)	27,811,956	25,007,351

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMP

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE LOSS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Statement of Comprehensive Income [Abstract]
Net loss	$ (7,604)	$ (23,681)
Other comprehensive income (loss):
Change in foreign currency translation adjustment	(12)	(8)
Total other comprehensive income (loss)	(12)	(8)
Comprehensive loss	$ (7,616)	$ (23,689)

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss	$ (7,604,000)	$ (23,681,000)
Less:
Loss from discontinued operations	1,585,000	(11,241,000)
Loss from continuing operations	(9,189,000)	(12,440,000)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation	515,000	265,000
Charge for 401(k) company common stock match	281,000	323,000
Stock-based compensation	848,000	2,128,000
Inventory impairment	199,000	209,000
Gain on sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment	(9,833,000)	(33,000)
Non-cash restructuring expense paid through stock and equipment	196,000	0
Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable	172,000	(193,000)
Due from related parties	145,000	(34,000)
Unbilled receivables	29,000	270,000
Inventory	180,000	(2,000)
Prepaid expenses and other assets	1,302,000	(1,081,000)
Accounts payable	(51,000)	(226,000)
Accrued expenses	(845,000)	62,000
Contract termination obligation and other long-term liabilities	339,000	0
Deferred revenue	(277,000)	130,000
Taxes paid on employees' behalf related to vesting of stock awards	(296,000)	0
Net cash used in operating activities	(14,700,000)	(21,863,000)
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of property and equipment	(752,000)	(654,000)
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment	10,317,000	40,000
Change in restricted cash	187,000	0
Net cash provided (used) by investing activities	9,752,000	(614,000)
Cash flows from financing activities
Proceeds from private placement offering, net of issuance costs	0	14,703,000
Net cash provided by financing activities	0	14,703,000
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash and cash equivalents	(12,000)	(3,000)
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents	(4,960,000)	(7,777,000)
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period	12,269,000	20,046,000
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period	7,309,000	12,269,000
Supplemental disclosure of non-cash information:
Purchase of property and equipment included in accounts payable and accrued expenses	0	68,000
Lease incentive paid by lessor	1,332,000	0
Transfer of equipment to settle contractual liability	111,000	0
Issuance of common stock to settle contractual liability	85,000	0
Issuance of stock in connection with Aspire agreement	0	450,000
Restricted stock units issued to settle incentive compensation obligation	$ 0	$ 305,000

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOC

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY - USD ($)	Total	Common Stock	Additional Paid-In Capital	Accumulated other Comprehensive Income (loss)	Accumulated Deficit	Series B Preferred StockPreferred Stock	Aspire	AspireCommon Stock	AspireAdditional Paid-In Capital	AspireSeries B Preferred StockPreferred Stock	Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2014	$ 18,796,000	$ 225,000	$ 320,707,000	$ (64,000)	$ (302,072,000)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2014		22,530,322
Increase (decrease) in stockholders' equity
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense	2,128,000		2,128,000
Issuance of common stock for 401k match	$ 335,000	$ 1,000	334,000								$ 305,000
Issuance of common stock for 401k match (in shares)	131,113	131,113
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs	$ 14,703,000	$ 44,000	14,659,000			$ 0
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs (in shares)		4,370,000				0
Issuance of stock in connection with contract termination	450,000	$ 3,000	447,000			$ 0
Issuance of common stock upon conversion of preferred stock (in shares)		(300,000)				0
Effect of foreign currency translation	(8,000)			(8,000)
Net loss	(23,681,000)				(23,681,000)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2015	$ 13,028,000	$ 273,000	338,580,000	(72,000)	(325,753,000)
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2015	27,331,435	27,331,435
Increase (decrease) in stockholders' equity
Non-cash stock-based compensation expense	$ 848,000		848,000
Issuance of common stock for 401k match	$ 320,000	$ 3,000	317,000
Issuance of common stock for 401k match (in shares)	319,309	319,309
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs	$ (296,000)	$ 4,000	(300,000)			$ 0	$ 85,000	$ 3,000	$ 82,000	$ 0
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs (in shares)		416,881				0		275,000		0
Effect of foreign currency translation	(12,000)			(12,000)
Net loss	(7,604,000)				(7,604,000)
Balance at Dec. 31, 2016	$ 6,369,000	$ 283,000	$ 339,527,000	$ (84,000)	$ (333,357,000)	$ 0
Balance (in shares) at Dec. 31, 2016	28,342,625	28,342,625				0

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STO8

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF STOCKHOLDERS' EQUITY (Parenthetical) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Statement of Stockholders' Equity [Abstract]
Issuance of common stock upon private offering, offering costs		$ 297
Shares withheld for employee taxes	188,500

Nature of Business

Nature of Business	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Business	Nature of Business and Basis of Presentation Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. was founded as Metabolix, Inc. in 1992 and changed its name in January 2017. Yield10 Bioscience is an agricultural bioscience company focusing on the development of new technologies to enable step-change increases in crop yield to enhance global food security. Yield10 is using two proprietary advanced biotechnology trait gene discovery platforms to improve fundamental crop yield through enhanced photosynthetic carbon capture and increased carbon utilization efficiency to increase seed yield. These platforms are based on the principle that plants which capture and utilize carbon more efficiently will enable more robust crops capable of increased seed yield. Yield10 is working to translate and demonstrate the commercial value of novel yield trait genes it has identified in major crops and to identify additional genome editing targets for improved crop performance in several key food and feed crops, including canola, soybean, rice and corn. Yield10 Bioscience is headquartered in Woburn, Massachusetts and has an additional agricultural science facility with greenhouses located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The accompanying consolidated financial statements have been prepared on a basis which assumes that the Company will continue as a going concern and which contemplates the realization of assets and satisfaction of liabilities and commitments in the normal course of business. With the exception of 2012, when the Company recognized $38,885 of deferred revenue from a terminated joint venture, the Company has recorded losses since its initial founding, including its fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. During 2016, the Company completed a strategic restructuring under which Yield10 Bioscience became its core business. In connection with the restructuring, the Company discontinued its pilot biopolymer production and other biopolymer operations, sold substantially all of its biopolymer assets to CJ CheilJedang Corporation ("CJ") for a total purchase price of $10,000 and reduced staffing levels to approximately twenty full-time employees as of December 31, 2016, in order to focus on crop science activities and significantly reduce the Company's cash burn rate used in operations. During 2016, the Company recorded restructuring charges of $3,525 and as of December 31, 2016, restructuring obligations of $2,048 remain outstanding with various payment due dates through May 2018. As of December 31, 2016, the Company held unrestricted cash and cash equivalents of $7,309 . The Company anticipates current cash resources will be sufficient to fund operations and meet its obligations, including its restructuring obligations, when due into the fourth quarter of 2017. This forecast of cash resources is forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties, and the actual amount of expenses could vary materially and adversely as a result of a number of factors. The Company has evaluated the new guidance of ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) in order to determine whether there is substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date its financial statements are issued. The Company's ability to continue operations after its current cash resources are exhausted depends on its ability to obtain additional financing through, among other sources, public or private equity financing, secured or unsecured debt financing, equity or debt bridge financing, additional government research grants or collaborative arrangements with third parties, as to which no assurances can be given. Management does not know whether additional financing will be available on terms favorable or acceptable to the Company when needed, if at all. If adequate additional funds are not available when required, or if the Company is unsuccessful in entering collaborative arrangements for further research, management may be forced to curtail the Company's research efforts, explore strategic alternatives and/or wind down its operations, pursue options for liquidating its remaining assets, including intellectual property and equipment and/or seek strategic alternatives. Based on the cash forecast, management has determined that the Company's present capital resources are not sufficient to fund its planned operations for a twelve month period from the date that the financial statements are issued, and therefore, raise substantial doubt about its ability to continue as a going concern. During 2015, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC ("Aspire"). Under terms of the agreement, Aspire committed to purchase up to $20,000 of Yield10 Bioscience common stock over a 30 month period that will end on May 8, 2018. Common stock may be sold from time to time at the Company’s option under pricing formulas based on prevailing market prices around the time of each sale. The purchase agreement contains limitations on the number of shares that the Company may sell to Aspire. Additionally, the Company and Aspire may not effect any sales of shares of its common stock under the purchase agreement during the continuance of an event of default or on any trading day that the closing sale price of its common stock is less than $0.50 per share. At December 31, 2016, the market price for the Company's common stock was below $0.50 , and although the full $20,000 remained available under the purchase agreement with Aspire, market conditions likely limit the extent which the Company can draw on this facility. If the Company issues equity or debt securities to raise additional funds, (i) the Company may incur fees associated with such issuance, (ii) its existing stockholders may experience dilution from the issuance of new equity securities, (iii) the Company may incur ongoing interest expense and be required to grant a security interest in Company assets in connection with any debt issuance, and (iv) the new equity or debt securities may have rights, preferences and privileges senior to those of the Company’s existing stockholders. In addition, utilization of the Company’s net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards may be subject to significant annual limitations under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 due to ownership changes resulting from equity financing transactions. If the Company raises additional funds through collaboration, licensing or other similar arrangements, it may be necessary to relinquish valuable rights to its potential products or proprietary technologies, or grant licenses on terms that are not favorable to the Company. On June 30, 2016, the Company received a Notice of Delisting from The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC ("Nasdaq") as a result of the Company's bid price for the previous 30 consecutive business days closing below the minimum $1.00 per share requirement for continued listing on The Nasdaq Capital Market under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(a)(2). In accordance with Nasdaq Listing Rule 5810(c)(3)(A), the Company was provided with an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until December 27, 2016, to regain compliance. On December 28, 2016, the Company received a second notice that Nasdaq had granted the Company an additional 180 days (until June 26, 2017) to regain compliance with Nasdaq's $1.00 per share minimum bid price. The Company is considering actions that it may take in order to regain compliance with this continued listing requirement.

Summary of Significant Accounti

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Summary of Significant Accounting Policies	Summary of Significant Accounting Policies Principles of Consolidation The Company's consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions were eliminated, including transactions with its Canadian subsidiary, Metabolix Oilseeds, Inc. On September 16, 2016, the Company completed the sale of its biopolymer intellectual property and certain equipment and inventory to an affiliate of CJ in a transaction that met the requirements for discontinued operations reporting in accordance with ASU No. 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity . The consolidated financial statements for each of the two years ending December 31, 2016, have been presented to reflect the Company's biopolymer operation as a discontinued operation. Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates. Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity date of ninety days or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents. Investments The Company considers all investments purchased with an original maturity date of ninety days or more at the date of purchase and a maturity date of one year or less at the balance sheet date to be short-term investments. All other investments are classified as long-term. The Company held no short or long-term investments at December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015. Unrealized gains and temporary losses on investments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of stockholders' equity. Realized gains and losses, dividends, interest income and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary credit losses are included in other income (expense). Any premium or discount arising at purchase is amortized and/or accreted to interest income. Restricted Cash The Company had restricted cash in the amount of $432 and $619 at December 31, 2016, and December 31, 2015, respectively. At December 31, 2016, restricted cash consists of $307 held in connection with the lease agreement for the Company's Woburn, Massachusetts facility and $125 held in connection with its corporate credit card program. Deferred Equity Financing Costs The Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement in 2015 with Aspire Capital in which Aspire committed to purchase up to $20,000 of the Company's common stock over a 30-month period (see Note 9). Offering costs incurred to establish this agreement have been recorded as deferred equity financing costs in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. These costs will be charged to additional paid-in-capital as shares are issued under the agreement. In the event it is determined that no additional shares will be issued, any remaining deferred equity offering costs will be recognized as expense at that time. Foreign Currency Translation Foreign denominated assets and liabilities of the Company's wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rates in effect on the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period. Any resulting translation gains or losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated balance sheet. When the Company dissolves, sells or substantially sells all of the assets of a consolidated foreign subsidiary, the cumulative translation gain or loss of that subsidiary is released from comprehensive income (loss) and included within its consolidated statement of operations during the fiscal period when the dissolution or sale occurs. Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of net income (loss) and certain changes in stockholders' equity that are excluded from net income (loss). The Company includes unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities and foreign currency translation adjustments in other comprehensive income (loss). Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company has historically invested its cash equivalents in highly rated money market funds, corporate debt, federal agency notes and U.S. treasury notes. Investments are acquired in accordance with the Company's investment policy which establishes a concentration limit per issuer. At December 31, 2016, the Company's cash equivalents were invested solely in money market funds. The Company's receivables related to government grants are believed to have a low risk of default. At December 31, 2016 , the Company's accounts and unbilled receivables of $188 are substantially all from research grants with the U.S. government under which the Company serves as either the primary contractor or as a subcontractor. At December 31, 2015 , the Company's accounts and unbilled receivables included $156 or 29% from government research grants. Fair Value Measurements The carrying amounts of the Company's financial instruments as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 , which include cash equivalents, accounts receivable, unbilled receivables, receivables due from related parties, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. See Note 4 for further discussion on fair value measurements. Segment Information The accounting guidance for segment reporting establishes standards for reporting information on operating segments in annual financial statements. The Company is an agricultural bioscience company operating in one segment, which is the development of technologies to produce step-change improvements in crop yield for food and feed crops. The Company's chief operating decision-maker does not manage any part of the Company separately, and the allocation of resources and assessment of performance are based on the Company's consolidated operating results. As of December 31, 2016 , and December 31, 2015, less than 10% of the Company's combined total assets were located outside of the United States. In addition, the reported net income (loss) outside of the United States was less than 10% of the combined net income (loss) of the consolidated Company. Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance are charged to operations as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets once they are placed in service as follows: Asset Description Estimated Useful Life Equipment 2.5 - 3 years Furniture and Fixtures 5 Software 3 Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or term of lease The Company records incentive payments received from its landlords as deferred rent and amortizes these amounts as reductions to lease expense over the lease term. Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The guidance further requires that companies recognize an impairment loss only if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable based on its undiscounted future cash flows and measure an impairment loss as the difference between the carrying amount and fair value of the asset. Revenue Recognition The Company's principal source of continuing revenue is from its government research grants in which it serves as either the primary contractor or as a subcontractor. These contracts grants are considered an ongoing major and central operation of the Company's business. Revenue is earned as research expenses related to the grants are incurred. Revenue earned on government grants, but not yet invoiced as of the balance sheet date, are recorded as unbilled receivables in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Funds received from government grants in advance of work being performed are recorded as deferred revenue until earned. Research and Development All costs associated with internal research and development are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses include, among others, direct costs for salaries, employee benefits, subcontractors, product trials, facility related expenses, depreciation, and stock-based compensation. Costs related to revenue-producing contracts and government grants are recorded as research and development expenses. General and Administrative Expenses The Company's general and administrative expense includes costs for salaries, employee benefits, facilities expenses, consulting fees, travel expenses, depreciation expenses, and office related expenses incurred to support the administrative operations of the Company. Intellectual Property Costs The Company includes all costs associated with the prosecution and maintenance of patents within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations. Stock-Based Compensation All share-based payments to employees, members of the Board of Directors and non-employees are recognized in the statement of operations based on their fair values. For employees and members of the Company's Board of Directors, who receive nearly all of our stock awards, stock compensation expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value of the award, adjusted for estimated forfeitures, and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which the recipient is required to provide service in exchange for the award. See Note 10 for a description of the types of stock-based awards granted, the compensation expense related to such awards and detail of equity-based awards outstanding. Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Share Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of dilutive common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted shares outstanding is calculated by adding to the weighted shares outstanding any potential (unissued) shares of common stock from outstanding stock options and warrants based on the treasury stock method, as well as weighted shares outstanding of any potential (unissued) shares of common stock from restricted stock units. In periods when a net loss is reported, all common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation because they would have an anti-dilutive effect, meaning the loss per share would be reduced. Therefore, in periods when a loss is reported, there is no difference in basic and dilutive loss per share. Common stock equivalents include stock options, restricted stock awards and warrants. The Company follows the two-class method when computing net loss per share, when it has issued shares that meet the definition of participating securities. The two-class method determines net loss per share for each class of common and participating securities according to dividends declared or accumulated and participating rights in undistributed earnings. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between common and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive dividends, as if all income for the period has been distributed or losses to be allocated if they are contractually required to fund losses. There were no amounts allocated to participating securities during each of the two years ended December 31, 2016, as the Company was in a loss position and had no shares that met the definition of participating securities outstanding at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The number of shares of potentially dilutive common stock presented on a weighted average basis, related to options, restricted stock units and warrants (prior to consideration of the treasury stock method) that were excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares since the inclusion of such shares would be anti-dilutive for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , respectively, are shown below: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Options 898,711 943,197 Restricted stock awards 707,581 946,074 Warrants 3,933,000 2,144,293 Total 5,539,292 4,033,564 In July 2016, the Board of Directors of the Company approved a strategic restructuring plan under which Yield10 Bioscience became its core business with a focus on developing disruptive technologies for step-change improvements in crop yield to enhance global food security. In connection with this restructuring, the Company discontinued its biopolymer operations. The Company's consolidated statement of operations for the years ending December 31, 2016 and 2015, included in this annual report have been prepared to present basic and diluted earnings per share from continuing and discontinued operations. Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or in the Company's tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax asset to a level which, more likely than not, will be realized. See Note 11 for further discussion of income taxes. The Company had no amounts recorded for any unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2016 and 2015. The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions using a "more-likely-than-not" threshold for recognizing and resolving uncertain tax positions. The evaluation of uncertain tax positions is based on factors that include, but are not limited to, changes in tax law, the measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in tax returns, the effective settlement of matters subject to audit, new audit activity and changes in facts or circumstances related to a tax position. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves or unrecognized tax benefits that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties, if any. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis and adjusts the level of the liability to reflect any subsequent changes in the relevant facts surrounding the uncertain positions. Restructuring Charges In July 2016, the Company announced a strategic restructuring under which Yield10 Bioscience became its core business and its biopolymer operations were discontinued. The Company records estimated restructuring charges for employee severance and contract termination costs as a current period expense as those costs become contractually fixed, probable and estimable. The long and short-term obligations associated with these charges is reduced or adjusted as payments are made or the Company's estimates are revised. Recent Accounting Standards Changes From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") or other standard setting bodies that we adopt as of the specified effective date. In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) . The new guidance addresses management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date that the financial statements are issued and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management’s evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. This guidance should reduce diversity in the timing and content of footnote disclosures. The amendments in this update apply to all entities and are effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. The Company adopted ASU 2014-15 for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. The adoption impacted presentation and disclosure only and did not have an impact on the Company's financial position or results of operations. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments . The new standard clarifies certain aspects of the statement of cash flows, including the classification of debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees and beneficial interests in securitization transactions. The new standard also clarifies that an entity should determine each separately identifiable source or use within the cash receipts and cash payments on the basis of the nature of the underlying cash flows. In situations in which cash receipts and payments have aspects of more than one class of cash flows and cannot be separated by source or use, the appropriate classification should depend on the activity that is likely to be the predominant source or use of cash flows for the item. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments . The new standard changes the impairment model for most financial assets and certain other instruments. Under the new standard, entities holding financial assets and net investment in leases that are not accounted for at fair value through net income are to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. An allowance for credit losses will be a valuation account that will be deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2020. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments . The new standard simplifies the embedded derivative analysis for debt instruments containing contingent call or put options by removing the requirement to assess whether a contingent event is related to interest rates or credit risks. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2017. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on our financial position or results of operations. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-07, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Simplifying the Transition to the Equity Method of Accounting . The new standard eliminates the requirement that when an investment qualifies for use of the equity method as a result of an increase in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence, an adjustment must be made to the investment, results of operations and retained earnings retroactively on a step-by-step basis as if the equity method had been in effect during all previous periods that the investment had been held. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) : Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting . The new standard involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The new standard requires that all lessees recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases on the balance sheet and disclose qualitative and quantitative information about its leasing arrangements. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2019. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities . The new standard amends certain aspects of accounting and disclosure requirements of financial instruments, including the requirement that equity investments with readily determinable fair values be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in our results of operations. The new standard does not apply to investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee. Equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values may be measured at fair value or at cost minus impairment adjusted for changes in observable prices. A financial liability that is measured at fair value in accordance with the fair value option is required to be presented separately in other comprehensive income for the portion of the total change in the fair value resulting from change in the instrument-specific credit risk. In addition, a valuation allowance should be evaluated on deferred tax assets related to available-for-sale debt securities in combination with other deferred tax assets. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2018. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The ASU is the result of a joint project by the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") that would: remove inconsistencies and weaknesses, provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues, improve comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, jurisdictions, industries, and capital markets, improve disclosure requirements and resulting financial statements, and simplify the presentation of financial statements. The core principle of the new guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is not permitted. On July 9, 2015, the FASB voted to delay the effective date of the new revenue standard by one year, but to permit entities to choose to adopt the standard as of the original date. We have begun to evaluate the effect the new revenue standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, but have not completed our evaluation and implementation process. We intend to complete the process during 2017 and adopt the standard on January 1, 2018, using the full retrospective adoption transition method. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Significant Collaborations

Significant Collaborations	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Significant Collaborations	Significant Collaborations The Company follows the accounting guidance for collaborative arrangements which requires that certain transactions between collaborators be recorded in the income statement on either a gross or net basis, depending on the characteristics of the collaboration relationship, and provides for enhanced disclosure of collaborative relationships. The Company evaluates its collaborative agreements for proper income statement classification based on the nature of the underlying activity. Yield10 Bioscience is not currently participating in any collaborative arrangements. The Company's historic strategy for collaborative arrangements has been to retain substantial participation in the future economic value of its technology while receiving current cash payments to offset research and development costs and working capital needs. By their nature, the Company's collaborative agreements have been complex, containing multiple elements covering a variety of present and future activities.

Fair Value Measurements

Fair Value Measurements	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements The Company has certain financial assets recorded at fair value which have been classified as Level 1 within the fair value hierarchy as described in the accounting standards for fair value measurements. Fair value is the price that would be received from the sale of an asset or the price paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between independent market participants at the measurement date. Fair values determined by Level 1 inputs utilize observable data such as quoted prices in active markets for identical instruments. Fair values determined by Level 2 inputs utilize data points other than quoted prices in active markets that are observable either directly or indirectly. Fair values determined by Level 3 inputs utilize unobservable data points in which there is little or no market data, which require the reporting entity to develop its own assumptions. The fair value hierarchy level is determined by the lowest level of significant input. At December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company did not own any Level 2 or Level 3 financial assets or liabilities and there were no transfers of financial assets or liabilities between category levels for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. The Company's assets are measured at fair value on a recurring basis. The balance of Level 1 assets as of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 were $1,018 and $8,013 , respectively, and for both years the assets were in money market funds classified in cash and cash equivalents.

Property and Equipment, Net

Property and Equipment, Net	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Property and Equipment, Net	Property and Equipment, Net Property and equipment consist of the following: Year ended 2016 2015 Equipment $ 1,048 $ 1,049 Furniture and fixtures 226 220 Leasehold improvements 1,825 1,265 Software 116 283 Total property and equipment, at cost 3,215 2,817 Less: Accumulated depreciation (1,476 ) (2,712 ) Property and equipment, net $ 1,739 $ 105 Depreciation expense for continuing operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , was $177 and $118 , respectively.

Accrued Expenses

Accrued Expenses	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]
Accrued Expenses	Accrued Expenses Accrued expenses consist of the following: Year ended 2016 2015 Employee compensation and benefits $ 713 $ 2,114 Commercial manufacturing 939 465 Professional services 459 431 Other 591 503 Total accrued expenses $ 2,702 $ 3,513 Included within accrued employee compensation and benefits is $626 of employee post-employment severance at December 31, 2016, associated with the Company's restructuring that was completed during 2016. See Note 14. The Company did no t have a severance accrual at December 31, 2015. Accrued commercial manufacturing expenses at December 31, 2016, includes the current portion of the Company's terminated manufacturing contract obligation of $933 . See Note 14.

Commitments and Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	Commitments and Contingencies Leases The Company rents its facilities under operating leases, which expire at various dates through December 2026. Rent expense for continuing operations under operating leases for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , was $1,889 and $2,063 , respectively. At December 31, 2016 , the Company's future minimum payments required under operating leases are as follows: Year ended December 31, Minimum lease payment 2017 $ 836 2018 802 2019 828 2020 705 2021 624 2022 and thereafter 3,348 Total $ 7,143 Lease Commitments On January 20, 2016, the Company entered into a lease agreement, pursuant to which the Company leases approximately 29,622 square feet of office and research and development space located at 19 Presidential Way, Woburn, Massachusetts. The lease began on June 1, 2016 and will end on November 30, 2026. The Company provided the landlord with a security deposit in the form of a letter of credit in the amount of $307 . Pursuant to the lease, the Company also will pay certain taxes and operating costs associated with the premises throughout the term of the lease. During the buildout of the rented space, the landlord paid $889 for tenant improvements to the facility and an additional $444 for tenant improvements that result in increased rental payments by the Company. The current and non-current portions of the lease incentive obligations related to the landlord’s contributions toward the cost of tenant improvements are recorded within accrued expenses and long-term lease incentive obligation, respectively, in the Company's consolidated balance sheet contained herein. On October 10, 2016, the Company entered into a sublease agreement with a subsidiary of CJ for the sublease of approximately 9,874 square feet of its leased facility located in Woburn, Massachusetts. The subleased space was determined to be in excess of the Company's needs as a result of its recent strategic shift to Yield10 Bioscience and the related restructuring of its operations. The sublease is coterminous with the Company's master lease. CJ will pay rent and operating expenses equal to approximately one-third of the amounts payable to the landlord by the Company, as adjusted from time-to-time in accordance with the terms of the master lease. Total future minimum operating lease payments of $7,143 shown above are net of the CJ sublease payments. In October 2016, CJ provided the Company with a security deposit of $103 in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit. The Company also leases approximately 13,702 square feet of office and laboratory space at 650 Suffolk Street, Lowell, Massachusetts. The lease for this facility expires in May 2020, with an option to renew for one five -year period. The Company is currently working with a commercial real estate broker to locate a subtenant for this space. The Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Metabolix Oilseeds, Inc. ("MOI"), located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, leases approximately 4,100 square feet of office, laboratory and greenhouse space. MOI's leases for its various leased facilities expire between April 30, 2017 and September 30, 2017. The Company expects to renew these Canadian leases prior to their expiration. Contractual Commitments In connection with the wind down of its biopolymer operations, the Company ceased pilot production of biopolymer material and reached agreements with the owner-operators of its biopolymer production facilities regarding the termination of their services. The Company recorded contract termination costs related to these manufacturing agreements of $2,641 during 2016, which is included within discontinued operations in the Company's statement of operations included in this report. As of December 31, 2016, approximately $1,500 of the obligations remain outstanding and will be paid in quarterly installments through May 2018. The short and long-term portions of these contractual liabilities are recorded in accrued expenses and contract termination obligation, respectively, in the Company's consolidated balance sheets contained herein. Year ended December 31, Amount 2017 $ 1,000 2018 500 2019 and thereafter — Total $ 1,500 Litigation From time to time, the Company may be subject to legal proceedings and claims in the ordinary course of business. The Company is not currently aware of any such proceedings or claims that it believes will have, individually or in the aggregate, a material adverse effect on the business, financial condition or the results of operations. Guarantees As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company did not have significant liabilities recorded for guarantees. The Company enters into indemnification provisions under various agreements with other companies in the ordinary course of business, typically with business partners, contractors, and customers. Under these provisions, the Company generally indemnifies and holds harmless the indemnified party for losses suffered or incurred by the indemnified party as a result of its activities. These indemnification provisions generally survive termination of the underlying agreement. The maximum potential amount of future payments the Company could be required to make under these indemnification provisions is unlimited. However, to date Yield10 Bioscience has not incurred material costs to defend lawsuits or settle claims related to these indemnification provisions. As a result, the estimated fair value of these agreements is minimal. Accordingly, the Company has no liabilities recorded for these agreements as of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.

License Agreements and Related

License Agreements and Related Parties	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	Related Parties The Company previously licensed certain technology to Tepha, Inc., a related party, for use in medical applications. During May 2016, the Company entered into an amendment to its license agreement with Tepha, in which the Company received a lump sum payment of $2,000 in consideration for an early buyout of all future royalties under the agreement and the licensing of two additional production strains and related intellectual property that was fully delivered to Tepha during 2016. The Company recognized $2,272 and $578 of license and royalty revenue from Tepha for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. During 2016, the Company also received $11 from Tepha in connection with their purchase of certain laboratory equipment previously used in the Company's biopolymer operations. At December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, the Company had outstanding receivables due from Tepha of $1 and $146 , respectively. During June 2016, the Company entered into a purchase and licensing agreement with a third party in which the Company received a lump sum payment of $1,000 in consideration for the sale of certain biopolymer inventory and a non-exclusive license to certain patents owned or controlled by the Company related to biopolymers. The Company recorded license fee and royalty revenue of $850 and product sales of $150 for the year ended December 31, 2016, related to this agreement. The patents underlying these license agreements are now owned by CJ. As a consequence of this sale and the Company's discontinuation of its biopolymer operations, license fee and royalty revenue is included within income (loss) from discontinued operations within the Company's consolidated statements of operations. See Note 15.

Capital Stock

Capital Stock	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Stockholders' Equity Note [Abstract]
Capital Stock	Capital Stock Common Stock In connection with the wind down of its biopolymer operations, the Company ceased pilot production of biopolymer material at its third-party biopolymer production facilities. On September 19, 2016, the Company entered into an early termination agreement with the owner-operator of one of the biopolymer production facilities. As part of the consideration for the early termination, the Company issued 275,000 unregistered shares of Yield10 common stock. On October 7, 2015, the Company entered into a common stock purchase agreement with Aspire Capital Fund, LLC. Under the terms of the agreement, Aspire committed to purchase up to an aggregate of $20,000 of the Company's common stock over a 30 month period that will end on May 8, 2018. Common stock may be sold from time to time at the Company’s direction under pricing formulas based on prevailing market prices around the time of each sale. The purchase agreement contains limitations on the number of shares that the Company may sell to Aspire. Additionally, the Company and Aspire may not effect any sales of shares of the Company's common stock under the purchase agreement during the continuance of an event of default or on any trading day that the closing sale price of its common stock is less than $0.50 per share. Upon execution of the purchase agreement, the Company issued 300,000 shares of its common stock to Aspire with a fair value of $450 , as a commitment fee. In addition, the Company incurred $172 of additional costs in connection with the Aspire facility, which along with the fair value of the common stock has been recorded as deferred equity financing costs in the accompanying consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. These costs will be charged to additional paid-in-capital as shares are issued to Aspire. In the event it is determined no additional shares will be issued under the purchase agreement, any remaining deferred equity offering costs will be expensed at such time. At December 31, 2016, the full $20,000 under the purchase agreement remains available for sale to Aspire. On June 19, 2015, the Company completed a private placement of its securities. Proceeds received from the transaction were $14,703 , net of issuance costs of $297 . Investors participating in the transaction purchased a total of 4,370,000 shares of common stock at a price of $3.32 per share and warrants with a purchase price of $0.125 per warrant to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,933,000 additional shares of common stock. The warrants have a four -year term and are immediately exercisable at a price of $3.98 per share. The Company has determined that the warrants should be recorded within equity as additional paid-in capital. Preferred Stock The Company's certificate of incorporation, as amended and restated, authorizes it to issue up to 5,000,000 shares of $0.01 par value preferred stock. As of December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015, no preferred stock was issued or outstanding.

Stock-Based Compensation

Stock-Based Compensation	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation The Company adopted a stock plan in 2006 (the "2006 Plan"), which provided for the granting of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, deferred stock awards, restricted stock awards, unrestricted stock awards, cash-based awards and dividend equivalent rights. In October 2014, the 2006 Plan was terminated and the Company adopted a new plan (the "2014 Plan"). No further grants or awards were subsequently made under the 2006 Plan. A total of 1,467,076 options have been awarded from the 2006 Plan and as of December 31, 2016 , 482,314 of these options remain outstanding and eligible for future exercise. The 2014 Plan provides for the granting of incentive stock options, nonqualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, deferred stock awards, restricted stock awards, unrestricted stock awards, cash-based awards and dividend equivalent rights. A total of 5,401,118 options have been awarded from the 2014 Plan and as of December 31, 2016 , 5,376,786 of these options remain outstanding and eligible for future exercise. A total of 1,192,023 restricted stock awards have been awarded from the 2014 Plan and as of December 31, 2016, 261,283 of these restricted stock awards are unvested and outstanding. Expense Information for Employee Stock Awards The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense, related to employee stock awards, including awards to non-employees and members of the Board of Directors, of $848 and $2,128 for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , respectively. At December 31, 2016 , there was approximately $1,828 of stock-based compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, related to unvested awards not yet recognized which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of 1.81 years. Stock Options Options granted under the 2006 Plan and the 2014 Plan (the "Plans") generally vest ratably over periods of one to four years from the date of hire for new employees, or date of award for existing employees, or date of commencement of services with the Company for nonemployees, and generally expire ten years from the date of issuance. The Company's policy is to issue new shares upon the exercise of stock options. On October 26, 2016, the Company's Compensation Committee granted stock options for a total of 4,560,000 shares to employees who remained with the Company after the Company's restructuring was completed. Of this amount, options for 1,750,000 shares were contingent until December 21, 2016, when shareholder approval of certain amendments to the 2014 Plan was obtained, at which point they were no longer contingent. Each option has an exercise price per share equal to the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, vests in four equal semi-annual installments at a rate of 25% per installment over two years, and has a term of ten years from the date of grant. On November 4, 2016, the Company's former chief executive officer ("CEO"), was granted stock options for 750,000 shares upon the execution of separation and release agreements relating to the termination of his employment with the Company. These options have an exercise price per share equal to the fair market value of the Company's common stock on the date of grant, were fully vested on the date of grant, became exercisable on the effective date of the release agreement, and will remain exercisable through December 19, 2023. The Company recognized the full fair value of this award as stock compensation expense in its fourth fiscal quarter ending December 31, 2016. In December 2013, the Company's Board of Directors granted a non-qualified stock option award for the purchase of 191,667 shares of common stock to its former CEO in connection with his agreement to serve as a member of the Company's Board and to accept employment as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Upon execution of his separation agreement on November 4, 2016, the 143,750 remaining unvested stock options under this award became fully vested. The Company accounted for this vesting as an award modification and recorded the new fair value of the remaining options as expense during the Company's fourth fiscal quarter. A summary of the activity related to the shares of common stock covered by outstanding options is as follows: Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price Remaining Contractual Term (in years) Aggregate Intrinsic Value Balance at December 31, 2015 904,133 $26.58 Granted 5,365,000 0.53 Exercised — — Forfeited (42,410 ) 6.68 Expired (175,956 ) 32.44 Balance at December 31, 2016 6,050,767 3.45 8.82 $— Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2016 5,780,598 3.58 8.77 — Exercisable at December 31, 2016 1,422,694 12.85 5.60 — The weighted average grant date fair value per share of options granted during fiscal years 2016 and 2015 , was $0.31 , and $2.61 , respectively. No options were exercised during 2016 and 2015, and therefore the intrinsic value for exercised options during the two years was not applicable. The weighted average remaining contractual term for options outstanding as of December 31, 2016 was 8.8 years . For the years ended December 31, 2016 , and 2015 , the Company determined the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions for option grants, respectively: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Expected dividend yield — — Risk-free rate 1.24% - 2.04% 1.32% - 1.69% Expected option term (in years) 5.4-5.7 5.5-5.9 Volatility 93% - 96% 88% - 91% The Company determined its volatility assumption based on actual market price fluctuations experienced during its trading history. The risk-free interest rate used for each grant is equal to the U.S. Treasury yield curve in effect at the time of grant for instruments with a term similar to the expected life of the related option. The expected term of the options is based upon evaluation of historical and expected future exercise behavior. The stock price volatility and expected terms utilized in the calculation involve management's best estimates at that time, both of which impact the fair value of the option calculated under the Black-Scholes methodology and, ultimately, the expense that will be recognized over the life of the option. The accounting standard for stock-based compensation requires that the Company recognize compensation expense for only the portion of options that are expected to vest. Therefore, the Company has estimated expected forfeitures of stock options for the grants valued. In developing a forfeiture rate estimate, the Company considered its historical experience and actual forfeitures for the year. The Company will continue to evaluate its forfeiture rate as compared to the actual number of forfeitures in future periods to determine if adjustments to compensation expense may be required. Restricted Stock Units During 2015, the Company initiated use of Restricted Stock Units ("RSUs") as a broad-based form of long-term compensation incentive for its officers, directors and employees. On April 1, 2015, the Company awarded 203,967 RSUs under the 2014 Plan to members of senior management pursuant to elections previously made by the senior managers to convert a portion of their 2014 performance bonuses from cash to equity. These RSUs vested one year later on April 1, 2016. During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company also awarded a total of 906,806 additional long-term incentive RSUs to senior management and employees. These RSUs vest in four equal annual installments beginning one year after the date of grant, subject to service conditions. On September 10, 2015, the Company awarded 81,250 RSUs to its non-employee directors. These RSUs vested on May 28, 2016. Upon execution of the separation agreement with our former CEO on November 4, 2016, the Company accelerated the vesting of 151,250 previously outstanding RSUs awarded to him in 2015. The Company recorded stock compensation expense for the fair value of these RSUs during its fiscal quarter ended December 31, 2016, as a result of the accelerated vesting. The accelerated vesting of the RSUs and existing stock options previously discussed was provided pursuant to the terms of the separation agreement in lieu of any cash severance and 2016 cash bonus payable under the CEO's previous employment agreement. The Company records stock compensation expense for RSUs on a straight line basis over their vesting period based on each RSU's award date market value. The Company recognizes compensation expense for only the portion of awards that are expected to vest. Therefore, the Company has estimated expected forfeitures of RSU's for the awards valued. In developing a forfeiture rate estimate, the Company considered its historical experience and actual forfeitures for the year. The Company will continue to evaluate its forfeiture rate as compared to the actual number of forfeitures in future periods to determine if adjustments to compensation expense may be required. The Company will pay minimum required income tax withholding associated with RSUs for its employees. As the RSUs vest, the Company will withhold a number of shares with an aggregate fair market value equal to the minimum tax withholding amount (unless the employee makes other arrangements for payment of the tax withholding) from the common stock issuable at the vest date. During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company withheld vested shares with a fair value of $296 to pay for minimum tax withholding associated with RSU vesting. No such amounts were paid during the year ended December 31, 2015. A summary of RSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2016 is as follows: Number of RSUs Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (years) Outstanding at December 31, 2015 1,286,773 Awarded — Released (605,381 ) Forfeited (420,109 ) Outstanding at December 31, 2016 261,283 1.25 Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2016 202,710 1.21 Weighted average remaining recognition period (years) 2.25 Weighted average grant date fair value of RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2016 $ — Expense Information for Non-employee Stock Awards During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company granted stock options to purchase 55,000 shares of common stock to non-employee members of the Company's scientific advisory board. The compensation expense related to these options is to be recognized over a period of 2 years . The granted options vest 50% annually and such vesting is contingent upon future services provided by the advisors to the Company. Stock compensation expense of $9 related to these non-employee stock awards was recorded during the year ended December 31, 2016. No options were awarded and no stock compensation expense was recorded for the year ended December 31, 2015, related to non-employee option grants. Options remaining unvested for non-employees are subject to remeasurement each reporting period prior to their vesting in full. Since the fair market value of the options issued to non-employees is subject to change in the future, the compensation expense recognized each year may not be indicative of future stock-based compensation charges.

Income Taxes

Income Taxes	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	Income Taxes The components of loss from continuing operations before provision for income taxes consist of the following: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Domestic $ (10,318 ) $ (12,406 ) Foreign 48 21 Loss before taxes $ (10,270 ) $ (12,385 ) The reported amount of income tax expense for the years differs from the amount that would result from applying domestic federal statutory tax rates to pretax losses primarily because of changes in valuation allowance. Significant components of the Company's net deferred tax assets are as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Deferred Tax Assets: Net operating loss carryforward $ 25,182 $ 9,904 Capitalization of research and development expense 2,634 15,070 Credit carryforwards 2,048 1,312 Depreciation 1,505 2,148 Stock compensation 2,414 4,902 Other temporary differences 1,202 1,186 Total deferred tax assets. 34,985 34,522 Valuation allowance (34,985 ) (34,522 ) Net deferred tax assets — — Deferred Tax Liabilities: Other temporary differences — — Net deferred taxes $ — $ — The items accounting for the difference between the income tax benefit computed at the federal statutory rate of 34% and the provision for income taxes were as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Federal income tax at statutory federal rate 34.0 % 34.0 % State taxes 5.0 % 5.0 % Permanent differences (1.9 )% (3.9 )% Tax credits 7.4 % 6.9 % State rate change on deferred balances (0.6 )% (0.1 )% Impact of ownership change (6.1 )% 3.3 % Stock compensation (22.9 )% 0.0 % Other (0.5 )% 0.6 % Change in valuation allowance (3.7 )% (45.8 )% Total 10.7 % 0.0 % The tax years 2013 through 2016 remain open to examination by major taxing jurisdictions to which the Company is subject, which are primarily in the U.S. The statute of limitations for net operating losses utilized in future years will remain open beginning in the year of utilization. The Company's policy is to record estimated interest and penalties related to uncertain tax positions as income tax expense. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015 , the Company had no accrued interest or penalties recorded related to uncertain tax positions. At December 31, 2016 , the Company had net operating loss carryforwards (NOLs) for federal, state and international income tax purposes of approximately $63,285 , $58,732 and $2,404 , respectively. Included in the federal and state net operating loss carryforwards is $543 deduction related to the exercise of stock options. This amount represents an excess tax benefit which will be realized when it results in a reduction of cash taxes in accordance with ASC 718. The Company's existing federal and state net operating loss carryforwards will begin to expire on various dates through 2036. The Company also had available research and development credits for federal and state income tax purposes of approximately $1,195 and $673 , respectively. These federal and state research and development credits will begin to expire in 2034 and 2029, respectively. As of December 31, 2016 , the Company also had available investment tax credits for state income tax purposes of $14 , which also begin to expire in 2017. Management of the Company has evaluated the positive and negative evidence bearing upon the realizability of its deferred tax assets, which are comprised principally of net operating loss carryforwards and research and development credits. Under the applicable accounting standards, management has considered the Company's history of losses and concluded that it is more likely than not that the Company will not recognize the benefits of federal and state deferred tax assets. Accordingly, a full valuation allowance has been established against the deferred tax assets. Utilization of the net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards may be subject to a substantial annual limitation under Section 382 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 due to ownership change limitations that have occurred previously or that could occur in the future. These ownership changes may limit the amount of net operating loss and research and development credit carryforwards that can be utilized annually to offset future taxable income and tax, respectively. The Company completed an evaluation of its ownership changes through December 31, 2015 and determined that an ownership change occurred on August 22, 2014 in connection with the Company's issuance of Common and Series B Convertible Preferred stock. As a consequence of this ownership change, the Company's NOLs, tax credit carryforwards and other tax deductions allocable to the tax periods preceding the ownership change became subject to limitation under Section 382. The Company has reduced its associated deferred tax assets accordingly. The Company has not yet completed an evaluation of ownership changes through December 31, 2016. To the extent an ownership change occurs in the future, the net operating loss, credit carryforwards and other deferred tax assets may be subject to further limitations. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company recognized tax expense of $1,097 as a result of net income recorded for discontinued operations. This tax expense is offset in consolidation by a tax benefit of $1,097 as a result of the Company's net loss from continuing operations. No additional provision has been made for U.S. income taxes related to the undistributed earnings of the wholly-owned subsidiaries of Yield10 Bioscience, Inc. or for unrecognized deferred tax liabilities for temporary differences related to investments in subsidiaries as the amounts are not significant. As such, earnings are expected to be permanently reinvested, the investments are essentially permanent in duration, or the Company has concluded that no additional tax liability will arise as a result of the distribution of such earnings. A liability could arise if amounts are distributed by such subsidiaries or if such subsidiaries are ultimately disposed. It is not practical to estimate the additional income taxes related to permanently reinvested earnings or the basis differences related to investment in subsidiaries. Unremitted earnings at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015 approximated $346 and $311 , respectively.

Employee Benefits

Employee Benefits	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Employee Benefits	Employee Benefits The Company maintains a 401(k) savings plan in which substantially all of its regular U.S. employees are eligible to participate. Participants may contribute up to 60% of their annual compensation to the plan, subject to eligibility requirements and annual IRS limitations. The Company's plan provides for a matching contribution in common stock of up to 4.5% of a participant's total compensation dependent upon the level of participant contributions made during the plan year. Pursuant to this plan, the Company issued 319,309 , and 131,113 shares of common stock during the years ended December 31, 2016 , and 2015 , respectively, and recorded $281 , and $323 , respectively, of related expense. Company contributions are fully vested upon issuance.

U.S. Department of Energy Grant

U.S. Department of Energy Grants	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Research and Development Arrangement with Federal Government [Abstract]
U.S. Department of Energy Grants	U.S. Department of Energy Grants In 2011, the Company entered into a multi-year $6.0 million grant agreement entitled, Renewable Enhanced Feedstocks for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts, with the U.S. Department of Energy for the development of switchgrass. The Company used the funds to perform research to enhance the yield of bio-based products, biopower, or fuels made from switchgrass to produce denser biomass and other products that can be further processed to make fuels such as butanol, chemicals such as propylene, and other materials to improve the economic competitiveness of future biorefineries. The Company recognized revenue from the grant over the term of the agreement as it incurred related research and development costs and it met its prorated cost-sharing obligation of approximately $3.9 million . During the year ended December 31, 2015 , the Company recognized the final $1,028 in revenue related to this grant. In 2015, the Company entered into a multi-year $2.0 million grant agreement entitled, Production of High Oil, Transgene Free Camelina Sativa Plants through Genome Editing , with the U.S. Department of Energy for the development of Camelina sativa feedstock. The Company is using the funds to perform research to increase oil content and/or seed yield to maximize oil yields per acre. Continued receipt of grant proceeds is contingent upon the availability of government appropriated funds and the Company's ability to make substantial progress towards meeting the objectives of the award. The Company recognizes revenue from the grant over the term of the agreement as it incurs related research and development costs and provided it meets its prorated cost-sharing obligation of approximately $0.5 million . The Company may elect to retain rights to inventions it conceives or reduces to practice in the performance of work under the award, subject to certain rights of the U.S. Government. During the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company recognized $913 and $33 , respectively, in revenue related to this grant. The grant is expected to complete in September 2017.

Discontinued Operation

Discontinued Operation	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Discontinued Operation	Discontinued Operation In July 2016, the Company announced a strategic restructuring plan under which Yield10 Bioscience became its core business. Yield10 Bioscience discontinued its biopolymer operations and eliminated approximately 45 positions in its biopolymer operations and corporate organization. As part of this strategic shift, the Company completed the sale of its biopolymer intellectual property and certain equipment and inventory to an affiliate of CJ during September 2016. The $10,000 purchase price paid by CJ was primarily for the acquisition of intellectual property, including the Company’s PHA strains, patent rights, know-how and its rights, title and interest in certain license agreements. None of this intellectual property was previously capitalized to the Company’s balance sheet. As such, the transaction resulted in a gain on the sale of approximately $9,868 , net of the book value of the equipment sold. In addition to the CJ purchase, other parties acquired various capital equipment of the biopolymer operation for a total purchase price of approximately $428 , resulting in a net loss on sale of this equipment of approximately $35 . The Company will not have further involvement in the operations of the discontinued biopolymer business. The following are the major items comprising income or loss from discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Total revenue $ 4,945 $ 1,244 Costs and expenses: Cost of product revenue 793 660 Research and development 9,854 9,970 Selling, general and administrative 1,449 1,888 Net gain on sales of biopolymer assets (9,833 ) — Other expense — (33 ) Total costs and expenses 2,263 12,485 Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income tax provision $ 2,682 $ (11,241 ) Income tax provision (1,097 ) — Total net income (loss) from discontinued operations $ 1,585 $ (11,241 ) At December 31, 2015, current assets and other assets of disposal group classified as held for sale of $328 and $800 , respectively, shown on the Company's condensed consolidated balance sheet, represent biopolymer inventory and biopolymer production and laboratory equipment, respectively. All of this inventory and equipment was located in the U.S. At December 31, 2016, the sale of assets to CJ was completed and these assets are no longer carried within the Company's balance sheet. The following are the non-cash operating items and investing items related to discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Non-cash operating items: Depreciation $ 326 $ 147 Charge for 401(k) company common stock match $ 118 $ 167 Stock-based compensation $ 217 $ 663 Inventory impairment $ 199 $ 209 Non-cash restructuring expense paid through stock and equipment $ 196 $ — Gain on sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment $ (9,833 ) $ (33 ) Investing item: Purchases of property and equipment $ 193 $ 615

Restructuring

Restructuring	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]
Restructuring	Restructuring In July 2016, the Company announced a strategic restructuring under which Yield10 Bioscience has become its core business and the biopolymer operations were discontinued. As part of its strategic restructuring, the Company reduced staffing levels to twenty full-time employees as of December 31, 2016, and in January 2017, the Company formally changed its name to Yield10 Bioscience, Inc.. See Note 15, Discontinued Operations. In connection with the wind down of biopolymer operations, the Company also ceased pilot production of biopolymer materials and reached agreements with the owner-operators of its biopolymer production facilities regarding the termination of these services. During 2016, the Company made cash payments of $1,023 , issued 275,000 shares of company common stock with a fair market value of $85 and transferred certain biopolymer-related production equipment with a net book value of $111 to settle a portion of these agreements and other restructuring activities. Remaining cash restructuring costs at December 31, 2016, of $2,048 are expected to be paid out at various times through May 2018. Biopolymer Production Agreements Employee Severance and Related Costs Total Original Charges and Amounts Accrued $ 2,641 $ 322 $ 2,963 Adjustments to Charges — 562 562 Paid in Cash (1,023 ) (258 ) (1,281 ) Paid through Stock and Equipment (196 ) — (196 ) Ending Balance Accrued at December 31, 2016 $ 1,422 $ 626 $ 2,048 With the exception of approximately $238 of employee severance and related costs incurred for non-biopolymer employees, total restructuring costs shown in the table above have been classified within discontinued operations in the Company's consolidated statement of operations for the year ended December 31, 2016. Amounts related to the biopolymer production agreements are included in research and development expenses within discontinued operations as shown in Note 15. Remaining unpaid manufacturing contract termination costs of $933 and $489 are included in accrued expenses and contract termination obligation in the Company's consolidated balance sheet at December 31, 2016. Employee severance and related costs shown in the table above, are included in accrued expenses in the Company's consolidate balance sheet at December 31, 2016.

Geographic Information

Geographic Information	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Geographic Information	Geographic Information The geographic distribution of the Company's revenues and long-lived assets from continuing operations is summarized as follows: U.S. Canada Eliminations Total Year Ended December 31, 2016 Net revenues to unaffiliated customers $ 1,159 $ — $ — $ 1,159 Inter-geographic revenues — 906 (906 ) — Net revenues $ 1,159 $ 906 $ (906 ) $ 1,159 Identifiable long-lived assets $ 1,739 $ — $ — $ 1,739 Year Ended December 31, 2015 Net revenues to unaffiliated customers $ 1,349 $ 1 $ — $ 1,350 Inter-geographic revenues — 769 (769 ) — Net revenues $ 1,349 $ 770 $ (769 ) $ 1,350 Identifiable long-lived assets $ 103 $ 2 $ — $ 105 Foreign revenue is based on the country in which the Company's subsidiary that earned the revenue is domiciled. During 2016, grant revenue earned from the Company's BETO grant and subaward with North Carolina State University totaled $913 and $246 , or 79% and 21% , respectively, of total revenue. During 2015, revenue earned from the Company's REFABB grant with U.S. Department of Energy totaled $1,028 , or 76% of total revenue.

Summary of Significant Accoun25

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation The Company's consolidated financial statements are prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. All intercompany transactions were eliminated, including transactions with its Canadian subsidiary, Metabolix Oilseeds, Inc. On September 16, 2016, the Company completed the sale of its biopolymer intellectual property and certain equipment and inventory to an affiliate of CJ in a transaction that met the requirements for discontinued operations reporting in accordance with ASU No. 2014-08, Reporting Discontinued Operations and Disclosures of Disposals of Components of an Entity . The consolidated financial statements for each of the two years ending December 31, 2016, have been presented to reflect the Company's biopolymer operation as a discontinued operation.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates The preparation of financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP") requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and the disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting periods. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Cash and Cash Equivalents	Cash and Cash Equivalents The Company considers all highly liquid investments purchased with an original maturity date of ninety days or less at the date of purchase to be cash equivalents.
Investments	Investments The Company considers all investments purchased with an original maturity date of ninety days or more at the date of purchase and a maturity date of one year or less at the balance sheet date to be short-term investments. All other investments are classified as long-term. The Company held no short or long-term investments at December 31, 2016 or December 31, 2015. Unrealized gains and temporary losses on investments are included in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) as a separate component of stockholders' equity. Realized gains and losses, dividends, interest income and declines in value judged to be other-than-temporary credit losses are included in other income (expense). Any premium or discount arising at purchase is amortized and/or accreted to interest income.
Restricted Cash	Restricted Cash The Company had restricted cash in the amount of $432 and $619 at December 31, 2016, and December 31, 2015, respectively. At December 31, 2016, restricted cash consists of $307 held in connection with the lease agreement for the Company's Woburn, Massachusetts facility and $125 held in connection with its corporate credit card program.
Foreign Currency Translation	Foreign Currency Translation Foreign denominated assets and liabilities of the Company's wholly-owned foreign subsidiaries are translated into U.S. dollars at the prevailing exchange rates in effect on the balance sheet date. Revenues and expenses are translated at average exchange rates prevailing during the period. Any resulting translation gains or losses are recorded in accumulated other comprehensive income (loss) in the consolidated balance sheet. When the Company dissolves, sells or substantially sells all of the assets of a consolidated foreign subsidiary, the cumulative translation gain or loss of that subsidiary is released from comprehensive income (loss) and included within its consolidated statement of operations during the fiscal period when the dissolution or sale occurs.
Comprehensive Income (Loss)	Comprehensive Income (Loss) Comprehensive income (loss) is comprised of net income (loss) and certain changes in stockholders' equity that are excluded from net income (loss). The Company includes unrealized gains and losses on marketable securities and foreign currency translation adjustments in other comprehensive income (loss).
Concentration of Credit Risk	Concentration of Credit Risk Financial instruments that potentially subject the Company to concentrations of credit risk primarily consist of cash and cash equivalents and accounts receivable. The Company has historically invested its cash equivalents in highly rated money market funds, corporate debt, federal agency notes and U.S. treasury notes. Investments are acquired in accordance with the Company's investment policy which establishes a concentration limit per issuer. At December 31, 2016, the Company's cash equivalents were invested solely in money market funds. The Company's receivables related to government grants are believed to have a low risk of default.
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements The carrying amounts of the Company's financial instruments as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 , which include cash equivalents, accounts receivable, unbilled receivables, receivables due from related parties, accounts payable, and accrued expenses, approximate their fair values due to the short-term nature of these instruments. See Note 4 for further discussion on fair value measurements.
Segment Information	Segment Information The accounting guidance for segment reporting establishes standards for reporting information on operating segments in annual financial statements. The Company is an agricultural bioscience company operating in one segment, which is the development of technologies to produce step-change improvements in crop yield for food and feed crops. The Company's chief operating decision-maker does not manage any part of the Company separately, and the allocation of resources and assessment of performance are based on the Company's consolidated operating results. As of December 31, 2016 , and December 31, 2015, less than 10% of the Company's combined total assets were located outside of the United States. In addition, the reported net income (loss) outside of the United States was less than 10% of the combined net income (loss) of the consolidated Company.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment Property and equipment are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. Repairs and maintenance are charged to operations as incurred. Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets once they are placed in service as follows: Asset Description Estimated Useful Life Equipment 2.5 - 3 years Furniture and Fixtures 5 Software 3 Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or term of lease The Company records incentive payments received from its landlords as deferred rent and amortizes these amounts as reductions to lease expense over the lease term.
Impairment of Long-Lived Assets	Impairment of Long-Lived Assets Long-lived assets, such as property and equipment, are reviewed for impairment whenever events or changes in circumstances indicate that the carrying amount of an asset may not be recoverable. The guidance further requires that companies recognize an impairment loss only if the carrying amount of a long-lived asset is not recoverable based on its undiscounted future cash flows and measure an impairment loss as the difference between the carrying amount and fair value of the asset.
Revenue Recognition	Revenue Recognition The Company's principal source of continuing revenue is from its government research grants in which it serves as either the primary contractor or as a subcontractor. These contracts grants are considered an ongoing major and central operation of the Company's business. Revenue is earned as research expenses related to the grants are incurred. Revenue earned on government grants, but not yet invoiced as of the balance sheet date, are recorded as unbilled receivables in the accompanying consolidated balance sheets for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Funds received from government grants in advance of work being performed are recorded as deferred revenue until earned.
Research and Development	Research and Development All costs associated with internal research and development are expensed as incurred. Research and development expenses include, among others, direct costs for salaries, employee benefits, subcontractors, product trials, facility related expenses, depreciation, and stock-based compensation. Costs related to revenue-producing contracts and government grants are recorded as research and development expenses.
General, and Administrative Expenses	General and Administrative Expenses The Company's general and administrative expense includes costs for salaries, employee benefits, facilities expenses, consulting fees, travel expenses, depreciation expenses, and office related expenses incurred to support the administrative operations of the Company.
Intellectual Property Costs	Intellectual Property Costs The Company includes all costs associated with the prosecution and maintenance of patents within general and administrative expenses in the consolidated statement of operations.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation All share-based payments to employees, members of the Board of Directors and non-employees are recognized in the statement of operations based on their fair values. For employees and members of the Company's Board of Directors, who receive nearly all of our stock awards, stock compensation expense is recognized based on the grant-date fair value of the award, adjusted for estimated forfeitures, and is recognized on a straight-line basis over the period during which the recipient is required to provide service in exchange for the award. See Note 10 for a description of the types of stock-based awards granted, the compensation expense related to such awards and detail of equity-based awards outstanding.
Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Share	Basic and Diluted Net Loss per Share Basic net income (loss) per share is computed by dividing net income (loss) by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding. Diluted net loss per share is computed by dividing net income by the weighted-average number of dilutive common shares outstanding during the period. Diluted shares outstanding is calculated by adding to the weighted shares outstanding any potential (unissued) shares of common stock from outstanding stock options and warrants based on the treasury stock method, as well as weighted shares outstanding of any potential (unissued) shares of common stock from restricted stock units. In periods when a net loss is reported, all common stock equivalents are excluded from the calculation because they would have an anti-dilutive effect, meaning the loss per share would be reduced. Therefore, in periods when a loss is reported, there is no difference in basic and dilutive loss per share. Common stock equivalents include stock options, restricted stock awards and warrants. The Company follows the two-class method when computing net loss per share, when it has issued shares that meet the definition of participating securities. The two-class method determines net loss per share for each class of common and participating securities according to dividends declared or accumulated and participating rights in undistributed earnings. The two-class method requires income available to common stockholders for the period to be allocated between common and participating securities based on their respective rights to receive dividends, as if all income for the period has been distributed or losses to be allocated if they are contractually required to fund losses. There were no amounts allocated to participating securities during each of the two years ended December 31, 2016, as the Company was in a loss position and had no shares that met the definition of participating securities outstanding at December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015.
Income Taxes	Income Taxes The Company accounts for income taxes using the asset and liability method, which requires the recognition of deferred tax assets and liabilities for the expected future tax consequences of events that have been recognized in the consolidated financial statements or in the Company's tax returns. Under this method, deferred tax assets and liabilities are determined based on the difference between the financial statement and tax basis of assets and liabilities using enacted tax rates in effect for the year in which the differences are expected to reverse. A valuation allowance is provided to reduce the deferred tax asset to a level which, more likely than not, will be realized. See Note 11 for further discussion of income taxes. The Company had no amounts recorded for any unrecognized tax benefits as of December 31, 2016 and 2015. The Company accounts for uncertain tax positions using a "more-likely-than-not" threshold for recognizing and resolving uncertain tax positions. The evaluation of uncertain tax positions is based on factors that include, but are not limited to, changes in tax law, the measurement of tax positions taken or expected to be taken in tax returns, the effective settlement of matters subject to audit, new audit activity and changes in facts or circumstances related to a tax position. The provision for income taxes includes the effects of any resulting tax reserves or unrecognized tax benefits that are considered appropriate as well as the related net interest and penalties, if any. The Company evaluates uncertain tax positions on a quarterly basis and adjusts the level of the liability to reflect any subsequent changes in the relevant facts surrounding the uncertain positions.
Recent Accounting Standards Changes	Recent Accounting Standards Changes From time to time, new accounting pronouncements are issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") or other standard setting bodies that we adopt as of the specified effective date. In August 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-15, Presentation of Financial Statements-Going Concern (Subtopic 205-40) . The new guidance addresses management’s responsibility to evaluate whether there is substantial doubt about an entity’s ability to continue as a going concern for one year after the date that the financial statements are issued and to provide related footnote disclosures. Management’s evaluation should be based on relevant conditions and events that are known and reasonably knowable at the date that the financial statements are issued. This guidance should reduce diversity in the timing and content of footnote disclosures. The amendments in this update apply to all entities and are effective for the annual period ending after December 15, 2016, and for annual periods and interim periods thereafter. The Company adopted ASU 2014-15 for its fiscal year ending December 31, 2016. The adoption impacted presentation and disclosure only and did not have an impact on the Company's financial position or results of operations. In August 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-15, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Classification of Certain Cash Receipts and Cash Payments . The new standard clarifies certain aspects of the statement of cash flows, including the classification of debt prepayment or debt extinguishment costs, settlement of zero-coupon debt instruments or other debt instruments with coupon interest rates that are insignificant in relation to the effective interest rate of the borrowing, contingent consideration payments made after a business combination, proceeds from the settlement of insurance claims, proceeds from the settlement of corporate-owned life insurance policies, distributions received from equity method investees and beneficial interests in securitization transactions. The new standard also clarifies that an entity should determine each separately identifiable source or use within the cash receipts and cash payments on the basis of the nature of the underlying cash flows. In situations in which cash receipts and payments have aspects of more than one class of cash flows and cannot be separated by source or use, the appropriate classification should depend on the activity that is likely to be the predominant source or use of cash flows for the item. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2018. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In June 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-13, Financial Instruments - Credit Losses (Topic 326): Measurement of Credit Losses on Financial Instruments . The new standard changes the impairment model for most financial assets and certain other instruments. Under the new standard, entities holding financial assets and net investment in leases that are not accounted for at fair value through net income are to be presented at the net amount expected to be collected. An allowance for credit losses will be a valuation account that will be deducted from the amortized cost basis of the financial asset to present the net carrying value at the amount expected to be collected on the financial asset. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2020. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-06, Derivatives and Hedging (Topic 815): Contingent Put and Call Options in Debt Instruments . The new standard simplifies the embedded derivative analysis for debt instruments containing contingent call or put options by removing the requirement to assess whether a contingent event is related to interest rates or credit risks. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2017. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have an impact on our financial position or results of operations. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-07, Investments - Equity Method and Joint Ventures (Topic 323): Simplifying the Transition to the Equity Method of Accounting . The new standard eliminates the requirement that when an investment qualifies for use of the equity method as a result of an increase in the level of ownership interest or degree of influence, an adjustment must be made to the investment, results of operations and retained earnings retroactively on a step-by-step basis as if the equity method had been in effect during all previous periods that the investment had been held. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations. In March 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-09, Compensation - Stock Compensation (Topic 718) : Improvements to Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting . The new standard involves several aspects of the accounting for share-based payment transactions, including the income tax consequences, classification of awards as either equity or liabilities and classification on the statement of cash flows. The new standard will be effective for the Company on January 1, 2017. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In February 2016, the FASB issued ASU 2016-02, Leases (Topic 842). The new standard requires that all lessees recognize the assets and liabilities that arise from leases on the balance sheet and disclose qualitative and quantitative information about its leasing arrangements. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2019. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In January 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-01, Financial Instruments - Overall (Subtopic 825-10): Recognition and Measurement of Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities . The new standard amends certain aspects of accounting and disclosure requirements of financial instruments, including the requirement that equity investments with readily determinable fair values be measured at fair value with changes in fair value recognized in our results of operations. The new standard does not apply to investments accounted for under the equity method of accounting or those that result in consolidation of the investee. Equity investments that do not have readily determinable fair values may be measured at fair value or at cost minus impairment adjusted for changes in observable prices. A financial liability that is measured at fair value in accordance with the fair value option is required to be presented separately in other comprehensive income for the portion of the total change in the fair value resulting from change in the instrument-specific credit risk. In addition, a valuation allowance should be evaluated on deferred tax assets related to available-for-sale debt securities in combination with other deferred tax assets. The new standard will be effective for us on January 1, 2018. The Company is in the process of evaluating the impact of this new guidance. In May 2014, the FASB issued Accounting Standards Update ("ASU") No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606). The ASU is the result of a joint project by the FASB and the International Accounting Standards Board ("IASB") to clarify the principles for recognizing revenue and to develop a common revenue standard for GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards ("IFRS") that would: remove inconsistencies and weaknesses, provide a more robust framework for addressing revenue issues, improve comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, jurisdictions, industries, and capital markets, improve disclosure requirements and resulting financial statements, and simplify the presentation of financial statements. The core principle of the new guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. The ASU is effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. Early adoption is not permitted. On July 9, 2015, the FASB voted to delay the effective date of the new revenue standard by one year, but to permit entities to choose to adopt the standard as of the original date. We have begun to evaluate the effect the new revenue standard will have on our consolidated financial statements and related disclosures, but have not completed our evaluation and implementation process. We intend to complete the process during 2017 and adopt the standard on January 1, 2018, using the full retrospective adoption transition method. The adoption of this standard is not expected to have a material impact on our financial position or results of operations.

Summary of Significant Accoun26

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Schedule of estimated useful life of assets used to compute depreciation using the straight-line method	Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets once they are placed in service as follows: Asset Description Estimated Useful Life Equipment 2.5 - 3 years Furniture and Fixtures 5 Software 3 Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or term of lease Property and equipment consist of the following: Year ended 2016 2015 Equipment $ 1,048 $ 1,049 Furniture and fixtures 226 220 Leasehold improvements 1,825 1,265 Software 116 283 Total property and equipment, at cost 3,215 2,817 Less: Accumulated depreciation (1,476 ) (2,712 ) Property and equipment, net $ 1,739 $ 105
Schedule of shares used to calculate diluted earnings per share	The number of shares of potentially dilutive common stock presented on a weighted average basis, related to options, restricted stock units and warrants (prior to consideration of the treasury stock method) that were excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares since the inclusion of such shares would be anti-dilutive for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 , respectively, are shown below: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Options 898,711 943,197 Restricted stock awards 707,581 946,074 Warrants 3,933,000 2,144,293 Total 5,539,292 4,033,564

Property and Equipment, Net (Ta

Property and Equipment, Net (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Property, Plant and Equipment [Abstract]
Schedule of components of property and equipment	Depreciation is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets once they are placed in service as follows: Asset Description Estimated Useful Life Equipment 2.5 - 3 years Furniture and Fixtures 5 Software 3 Leasehold improvements Shorter of useful life or term of lease Property and equipment consist of the following: Year ended 2016 2015 Equipment $ 1,048 $ 1,049 Furniture and fixtures 226 220 Leasehold improvements 1,825 1,265 Software 116 283 Total property and equipment, at cost 3,215 2,817 Less: Accumulated depreciation (1,476 ) (2,712 ) Property and equipment, net $ 1,739 $ 105

Accrued Expenses (Tables)

Accrued Expenses (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Payables and Accruals [Abstract]
Schedule of accrued expenses	Accrued expenses consist of the following: Year ended 2016 2015 Employee compensation and benefits $ 713 $ 2,114 Commercial manufacturing 939 465 Professional services 459 431 Other 591 503 Total accrued expenses $ 2,702 $ 3,513

Commitments and Contingencies (

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of the Company's future minimum payments required under operating leases	At December 31, 2016 , the Company's future minimum payments required under operating leases are as follows: Year ended December 31, Minimum lease payment 2017 $ 836 2018 802 2019 828 2020 705 2021 624 2022 and thereafter 3,348 Total $ 7,143
Long-term Purchase Commitment	Year ended December 31, Amount 2017 $ 1,000 2018 500 2019 and thereafter — Total $ 1,500

Stock-Based Compensation (Table

Stock-Based Compensation (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Disclosure of Compensation Related Costs, Share-based Payments [Abstract]
Summary of the activity related to the shares of common stock covered by outstanding options under the plans	A summary of the activity related to the shares of common stock covered by outstanding options is as follows: Number of Shares Weighted Average Exercise Price Remaining Contractual Term (in years) Aggregate Intrinsic Value Balance at December 31, 2015 904,133 $26.58 Granted 5,365,000 0.53 Exercised — — Forfeited (42,410 ) 6.68 Expired (175,956 ) 32.44 Balance at December 31, 2016 6,050,767 3.45 8.82 $— Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2016 5,780,598 3.58 8.77 — Exercisable at December 31, 2016 1,422,694 12.85 5.60 —
Schedule of assumptions used in determining fair value of stock options granted using the Black-Scholes option pricing model	For the years ended December 31, 2016 , and 2015 , the Company determined the fair value of stock options using the Black-Scholes option pricing model with the following assumptions for option grants, respectively: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Expected dividend yield — — Risk-free rate 1.24% - 2.04% 1.32% - 1.69% Expected option term (in years) 5.4-5.7 5.5-5.9 Volatility 93% - 96% 88% - 91%
Schedule of Share-based Compensation, Restricted Stock and Restricted Stock Units Activity	A summary of RSU activity for the year ended December 31, 2016 is as follows: Number of RSUs Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (years) Outstanding at December 31, 2015 1,286,773 Awarded — Released (605,381 ) Forfeited (420,109 ) Outstanding at December 31, 2016 261,283 1.25 Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2016 202,710 1.21 Weighted average remaining recognition period (years) 2.25 Weighted average grant date fair value of RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2016 $ —

Income Taxes (Tables)

Income Taxes (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Schedule of components of profit (loss) before provision for income taxes	The components of loss from continuing operations before provision for income taxes consist of the following: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Domestic $ (10,318 ) $ (12,406 ) Foreign 48 21 Loss before taxes $ (10,270 ) $ (12,385 )
Schedule of significant components of the Company's net deferred tax asset	Significant components of the Company's net deferred tax assets are as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Deferred Tax Assets: Net operating loss carryforward $ 25,182 $ 9,904 Capitalization of research and development expense 2,634 15,070 Credit carryforwards 2,048 1,312 Depreciation 1,505 2,148 Stock compensation 2,414 4,902 Other temporary differences 1,202 1,186 Total deferred tax assets. 34,985 34,522 Valuation allowance (34,985 ) (34,522 ) Net deferred tax assets — — Deferred Tax Liabilities: Other temporary differences — — Net deferred taxes $ — $ —
Schedule of items accounting for the difference between the income tax benefit computed at the federal statutory rate and the provision for income taxes	The items accounting for the difference between the income tax benefit computed at the federal statutory rate of 34% and the provision for income taxes were as follows: Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Federal income tax at statutory federal rate 34.0 % 34.0 % State taxes 5.0 % 5.0 % Permanent differences (1.9 )% (3.9 )% Tax credits 7.4 % 6.9 % State rate change on deferred balances (0.6 )% (0.1 )% Impact of ownership change (6.1 )% 3.3 % Stock compensation (22.9 )% 0.0 % Other (0.5 )% 0.6 % Change in valuation allowance (3.7 )% (45.8 )% Total 10.7 % 0.0 %

Discontinued Operation (Tables)

Discontinued Operation (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Discontinued Operations and Disposal Groups [Abstract]
Schedule of discontinued operations	The following are the non-cash operating items and investing items related to discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Non-cash operating items: Depreciation $ 326 $ 147 Charge for 401(k) company common stock match $ 118 $ 167 Stock-based compensation $ 217 $ 663 Inventory impairment $ 199 $ 209 Non-cash restructuring expense paid through stock and equipment $ 196 $ — Gain on sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment $ (9,833 ) $ (33 ) Investing item: Purchases of property and equipment $ 193 $ 615 The following are the major items comprising income or loss from discontinued operations for the years ended December 31, 2016 and December 31, 2015. Year Ended December 31, 2016 2015 Total revenue $ 4,945 $ 1,244 Costs and expenses: Cost of product revenue 793 660 Research and development 9,854 9,970 Selling, general and administrative 1,449 1,888 Net gain on sales of biopolymer assets (9,833 ) — Other expense — (33 ) Total costs and expenses 2,263 12,485 Income (loss) from discontinued operations before income tax provision $ 2,682 $ (11,241 ) Income tax provision (1,097 ) — Total net income (loss) from discontinued operations $ 1,585 $ (11,241 )

Restructuring (Tables)

Restructuring (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Restructuring and Related Activities [Abstract]
Restructuring and Related Costs	In connection with the wind down of biopolymer operations, the Company also ceased pilot production of biopolymer materials and reached agreements with the owner-operators of its biopolymer production facilities regarding the termination of these services. During 2016, the Company made cash payments of $1,023 , issued 275,000 shares of company common stock with a fair market value of $85 and transferred certain biopolymer-related production equipment with a net book value of $111 to settle a portion of these agreements and other restructuring activities. Remaining cash restructuring costs at December 31, 2016, of $2,048 are expected to be paid out at various times through May 2018. Biopolymer Production Agreements Employee Severance and Related Costs Total Original Charges and Amounts Accrued $ 2,641 $ 322 $ 2,963 Adjustments to Charges — 562 562 Paid in Cash (1,023 ) (258 ) (1,281 ) Paid through Stock and Equipment (196 ) — (196 ) Ending Balance Accrued at December 31, 2016 $ 1,422 $ 626 $ 2,048

Geographic Information (Tables)

Geographic Information (Tables)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Schedule of the geographic distribution of revenues and long-lived assets from continuing operations	The geographic distribution of the Company's revenues and long-lived assets from continuing operations is summarized as follows: U.S. Canada Eliminations Total Year Ended December 31, 2016 Net revenues to unaffiliated customers $ 1,159 $ — $ — $ 1,159 Inter-geographic revenues — 906 (906 ) — Net revenues $ 1,159 $ 906 $ (906 ) $ 1,159 Identifiable long-lived assets $ 1,739 $ — $ — $ 1,739 Year Ended December 31, 2015 Net revenues to unaffiliated customers $ 1,349 $ 1 $ — $ 1,350 Inter-geographic revenues — 769 (769 ) — Net revenues $ 1,349 $ 770 $ (769 ) $ 1,350 Identifiable long-lived assets $ 103 $ 2 $ — $ 105

Nature of Business (Details)

Nature of Business (Details)	Oct. 07, 2015$ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)employee	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Nov. 09, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014USD ($)
Related party transactions
Restructuring target number of employees remaining | employee		20
Unrestricted cash and cash equivalents		$ 7,309,000	$ 12,269,000		$ 20,046,000
Period over which company's present capital resources are not sufficient to fund its planned operations		12 months
Sales price of stock (less than .5 in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.50
CJ Cheil Jedang Corporation
Related party transactions
Proceeds from divestiture of businesses		$ 0
Aspire
Related party transactions
Common stock, commitment to sell, amount		20,000,000		$ 20,000,000
Long-term purchase commitment, period	30 months
Discontinued operations
Related party transactions
Restructuring charges		3,525,000
Restructuring costs remaining		$ 2,048,000	$ 2,963,000

Summary of Significant Accoun36

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details)	May 26, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Nov. 09, 2015USD ($)
Concentration of credit risk
Restricted cash		$ 619,000	$ 432,000
Restricted cash held in connection with lease agreements			307,000
Restricted cash held in connection with the company's corporate credit card program			125,000
Shares issued for each share converted	0.1667
Income tax expense (benefit)		0	0
Government grants
Concentration of credit risk
Accounts receivable		$ 156,000	188,000
Receivables/sales (as a percent)		29.00%
Aspire
Concentration of credit risk
Common stock, commitment to sell, amount			$ 20,000,000	$ 20,000,000

Summary of Significant Accoun37

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details 2)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016segment
Segment Information
Number of operating segments	1
Equipment | Minimum
Property and Equipment
Estimated Useful Life	2 years 6 months
Equipment | Maximum
Property and Equipment
Estimated Useful Life	3 years
Furniture and fixtures
Property and Equipment
Estimated Useful Life	5 years
Software
Property and Equipment
Estimated Useful Life	3 years

Summary of Significant Accoun38

Summary of Significant Accounting Policies (Details 3) - shares	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Antidilutive securities
Antidilutive common stock excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares	5,539,292	4,033,564
Options
Antidilutive securities
Antidilutive common stock excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares	898,711	943,197
Restricted stock awards
Antidilutive securities
Antidilutive common stock excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares	707,581	946,074
Warrants
Antidilutive securities
Antidilutive common stock excluded from the calculation of dilutive shares	3,933,000	2,144,293

Fair Value Measurements (Detail

Fair Value Measurements (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Assets, fair value	$ 1,018	$ 8,013

Property and Equipment, Net (De

Property and Equipment, Net (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Property and equipment, net
Total property and equipment, at cost	$ 3,215	$ 2,817
Less: Accumulated depreciation	(1,476)	(2,712)
Property and equipment, net	1,739	105
Depreciation expense for continuing operations	177	118
Equipment
Property and equipment, net
Total property and equipment, at cost	1,048	1,049
Furniture and fixtures
Property and equipment, net
Total property and equipment, at cost	226	220
Leasehold improvements
Property and equipment, net
Total property and equipment, at cost	1,825	1,265
Software
Property and equipment, net
Total property and equipment, at cost	$ 116	$ 283

Accrued Expenses (Details)

Accrued Expenses (Details) - USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Employee compensation and benefits	$ 713,000	$ 2,114,000
Commercial manufacturing	939,000	465,000
Professional services	459,000	431,000
Other	591,000	503,000
Total accrued expenses	2,702,000	3,513,000
Employee severance
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	238,000	$ 0
Contract Termination
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Commercial manufacturing	$ 933,000

Commitments and Contingencies -

Commitments and Contingencies - Details Textual (Details) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)	Oct. 31, 2016USD ($)	Jan. 20, 2016USD ($)ft²
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Operating leases, rent expense, net	$ 1,889	$ 2,063
Area of real estate property | ft²				29,622
Lease payment due in 2017	836
Lease payment due in 2018	802
Lease payment due thereafter	3,348
Restructuring contract termination fees payable	$ 1,500
Subsidiary
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Area of real estate property | ft²				4,095
650 Suffolk Street, Lowell, Massachusetts
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Area of real estate property | ft²				13,702
Lease renewal term	5 years
ARE_MA Region No. 20, LLC
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Security deposit				$ 307
Receivable, leasehold Improvements				889
Additional potential payment				$ 444
CJ Cheil Jedang Corporation
Operating Leased Assets [Line Items]
Area of real estate property | ft²				9,874
Security deposit			$ 103
Future minimum payments due	$ 7,143

Commitments and Contingencies43

Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Future minimum lease payments
2,017	$ 836
2,018	802
2,019	828
2,020	705
2,021	624
2022 and thereafter	$ 3,348

Contractual Obligations (Detail

Contractual Obligations (Details) $ in Thousands	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)
Commitments and Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
2,017	$ 1,000
2,018	500
2019 and thereafter	0
Total	$ 1,500

License Agreements and Relate45

License Agreements and Related Parties (Details) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2016USD ($)	May 31, 2016USD ($)production_strain	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
Related party transactions
License and royalty revenue	$ 1,000		$ 850
Outstanding receivable			1	$ 146
Revenue, Product Sales To Related Party			150
Tepha, Inc.
Related party transactions
Related party prepayment		$ 2,000
Number of prepaid additional production strains | production_strain		2
License and royalty revenue			2,272	578
Related Party Transaction, Purchases from Related Party			11
Outstanding receivable			$ 1	$ 146

Capital Stock (Details)

Capital Stock (Details)	Oct. 07, 2015USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Jun. 19, 2015USD ($)shares$ / shares	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)$ / sharesshares	Nov. 09, 2015USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014shares
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Sales price of stock (less than .5 in dollars per share) | $ / shares	$ 0.50
Common stock, shares issued	300,000		28,342,625	27,331,435
Stock Issued | $			$ 85,000	$ 0
Fair value of stock issued | $		$ 14,703,000	$ 0	$ 14,703,000
Issuance costs from private placement | $		$ 297,000
Warrants issued, price per warrant | $ / shares		$ 0.125
Warrant expiration period		4 years
Exercise price of warrants | $ / shares		$ 3.98
Preferred stock, shares authorized			5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, par value per share (in dollars per share) | $ / shares			$ 0.01	$ 0.01
Preferred stock, shares issued			0	0
Preferred stock, shares outstanding			0	0
Aspire
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock, commitment to sell, amount | $			$ 20,000,000		$ 20,000,000
Long-term purchase commitment, period	30 months
Stock Issued | $	$ 450,000
Common Stock
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement (in shares)			416,881	4,370,000
Common stock, shares issued			28,342,625	27,331,435		22,530,322
Number of units purchased		4,370,000
Share Price | $ / shares		$ 3.32
Number of securities called by warrants		3,933,000
Common Stock | Aspire
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement (in shares)			275,000
Other Assets | Aspire
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Deferred cost of product revenue | $	$ 172,000
Contract Termination
Class of Stock [Line Items]
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement (in shares)			275,000

Stock-Based Compensation (Detai

Stock-Based Compensation (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	Oct. 26, 2016	Sep. 10, 2015	Apr. 01, 2015	Dec. 19, 2013	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation
Awarded					0
Aggregate Intrinsic Value
Balance at December 31, 2015					$ 0
Vested and expected to vest at December 31, 2015					0
Exercisable at December 31, 2015					$ 0
Stock options
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted	2 years
Expiration period					10 years
Number of Shares
Balance at the beginning of the period (in shares)					904,133
Granted (in shares)	4,560,000				5,365,000
Exercised (in shares)					0	0
Forfeited (in shares)					(42,410)
Expired (in shares)					(175,956)
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)					6,050,767	904,133
Vested and expected to vest at the end of the period (in shares)					5,780,598
Options exercisable at the end of the period (in shares)					1,422,694
Weighted Average Exercise Price
Balance at the beginning of the period (in dollars per share)					$ 26.58
Granted (in dollars per share)					0.53
Exercised (in dollars per share)					0
Forfeited (in dollars per share)					6.68
Expired (in dollars per share)					32.44
Balance at the end of the period (in dollars per share)					3.45	$ 26.58
Vested and expected to vest at the end of the period (in dollars per share)					3.58
Options exercisable at the end of the period (in dollars per share)					$ 12.85
Remaining Contractual Term
Balance at the end of the period					8 years 9 months 26 days
Vested and expected to vest at the end of the period					8 years 9 months 7 days
Options exercisable at the end of the period					5 years 7 months 6 days
Additional disclosures
Weighted average grant date fair value of options granted (in dollars per share)					$ 0.31	$ 2.61
Stock options | Joseph Shaulson
Number of Shares
Granted (in shares)				191,667
Stock options | Minimum
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted					1 year
Stock options | Maximum
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted					4 years
Stock options | 2006 Plan
Stock-based compensation
Further grants or awards after termination of plan (in shares)					0
Options awarded					1,467,076
Number of Shares
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)					482,314
Stock options | 2014 Plan
Stock-based compensation
Options awarded					5,401,118
Number of Shares
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)					5,376,786
Restricted stock awards | 2014 Plan
Stock-based compensation
Options awarded					1,192,023
Number of Shares
Balance at the end of the period (in shares)					261,283
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Executive Employees
Stock-based compensation
Awarded			203,967		906,806
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs) | Non - Executive Employees
Stock-based compensation
Awarded		81,250

Stock-Based Compensation (Det48

Stock-Based Compensation (Details 2) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Oct. 26, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation
Weighted average period over which unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized		2 years 3 months
Stock options
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Vesting period for options granted	2 years
Stock options | Employee and Director
Stock-based compensation
Stock-based compensation expense		$ 848	$ 2,128
Stock-based compensation expense, net of estimated forfeitures, related to unvested awards not yet recognized		$ 1,828
Weighted average period over which unrecognized compensation expense is expected to be recognized		1 year 9 months 22 days
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Expected dividend yield (as a percent)		0.00%
Risk-free rate, minimum (as a percent)		1.24%	1.32%
Risk-free rate, maximum (as a percent)		2.04%	1.69%
Volatility, minimum (as a percent)		93.00%	88.00%
Volatility, maximum (as a percent)		96.00%	91.00%
Stock options | Minimum
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Vesting period for options granted		1 year
Stock options | Minimum | Employee and Director
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Expected option term (in years)		5 years 4 months 24 days	5 years 6 months
Stock options | Maximum
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Vesting period for options granted		4 years
Stock options | Maximum | Employee and Director
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Expected option term (in years)		5 years 8 months 12 days	5 years 10 months 24 days
Vesting in year one` | Nonemployee Stock Options
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Award vesting rights		50.00%
Vesting in first six months | Stock options
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Award vesting rights		25.00%
Vesting in second six months | Stock options
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Award vesting rights		25.00%
Vesting in year two | Nonemployee Stock Options
Assumptions used to determine fair value of stock options
Award vesting rights		50.00%

Stock-Based Compensation - Stoc

Stock-Based Compensation - Stock Options (Details) - Stock options - shares	Nov. 04, 2016	Oct. 26, 2016	Dec. 19, 2013	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted		2 years
Expiration period					10 years
Granted (in shares)		4,560,000			5,365,000
Options, contingent grants in period (in shares)				1,750,000
Award expiration period		10 years
Exercise of common stock options (in shares)					0	0
Balance at the end of the period					8 years 9 months 26 days
Vesting in first six months
Stock-based compensation
Award vesting rights					25.00%
Vesting in second six months
Stock-based compensation
Award vesting rights					25.00%
Vesting in third six months
Stock-based compensation
Award vesting rights					25.00%
Vesting in fourth six months
Stock-based compensation
Award vesting rights					25.00%
Chief Executive Officer
Stock-based compensation
Granted (in shares)	750,000
Chief Executive Officer | Vesting upon execution of agreement
Stock-based compensation
Award vesting rights					100.00%
Director
Stock-based compensation
Granted (in shares)			191,667
Options vested (in shares)	143,750
Minimum
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted					1 year
Maximum
Stock-based compensation
Vesting period for options granted					4 years

Stock-Based Compensation RSU (D

Stock-Based Compensation RSU (Details) - USD ($)	Nov. 04, 2016	Sep. 10, 2015	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Number of RSUs
Outstanding at December 31, 2015			1,286,773
Awarded			0
Released			(605,381)
Forfeited			(420,109)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016			261,283	1,286,773
Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2016			202,710
Weighted average remaining recognition period (years)			2 years 3 months
Weighted average grant date fair value of RSUs granted during the year ended December 31, 2016			$ 0
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (years)
Outstanding at December 31, 2016			1 year 3 months
Vested and expected to vest as of December 31, 2016			1 year 2 months 16 days
Minimum income tax withholding associated with employee vested RSUs			$ (296,000)	$ 0
Non - Executive Employees | Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Number of RSUs
Awarded		81,250
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Life (years)
Accelerated vesting (in shares)	151,250

Stock-Based Compensation - Expe

Stock-Based Compensation - Expense Information for Non-employee Stock Awards (Details) - Nonemployee Stock Options - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Stock-based compensation
Period for recognition of compensation expense	2 years
Stock compensation expense	$ 9,000	$ 0
Granted (in shares)	55,000	0

Income Taxes (Details)

Income Taxes (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Components of profit (loss) before provision for income taxes
Domestic	$ (10,318)	$ (12,406)
Foreign	48	21
Loss before taxes	(10,270)	(12,385)
Deferred Tax Assets:
Net operating loss carryforward	25,182	9,904
Capitalization of research and development expense	2,634	15,070
Credit carryforwards	2,048	1,312
Depreciation	1,505	2,148
Stock compensation	2,414	4,902
Other temporary differences	1,202	1,186
Total deferred tax assets.	34,985	34,522
Valuation allowance	(34,985)	(34,522)
Net deferred tax assets	0	0
Deferred Tax Liabilities:
Other temporary differences	0	0
Net deferred taxes	$ 0	$ 0
Difference between income tax benefit computed at the federal statutory rate and the provision for income taxes
Federal income tax at statutory federal rate	34.00%	34.00%
State taxes	5.00%	5.00%
Permanent differences	(1.90%)	(3.90%)
Tax credits	7.40%	6.90%
State rate change on deferred balances	(0.60%)	(0.10%)
Impact of ownership change	(6.10%)	3.30%
Stock compensation	(22.90%)	0.00%
Other	(0.50%)	0.60%
Change in valuation allowance	(3.70%)	(45.80%)
Total	10.70%	0.00%

Income Taxes - Details Textual

Income Taxes - Details Textual (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Unrecognized Tax Benefits, Income Tax Penalties and Interest Accrued	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0
Operating Loss Carryforwards, Attributable to Deduction Related to Exercise of Stock Options	543,000
Discontinued Operation, Tax Effect of Discontinued Operation	1,097,000	0
Income Tax Expense (Benefit)	(1,097,000)
Provision for Income Taxes for Undistributed Earnings of Foreign Subsidiaries	0
Undistributed Earnings of Foreign Subsidiaries	346,000	$ 311,000
Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Operating Loss Carryforwards	63,285,000
State and Local Jurisdiction
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Operating Loss Carryforwards	58,732,000
Foreign Tax Authority
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Operating Loss Carryforwards	2,404,000
Research Tax Credit Carryforward | Internal Revenue Service (IRS)
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Tax Credit Carryforward, Amount	1,195,000
Research Tax Credit Carryforward | State and Local Jurisdiction
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Tax Credit Carryforward, Amount	673,000
Investment Tax Credit Carryforward | State and Local Jurisdiction
Income Tax Contingency [Line Items]
Tax Credit Carryforward, Amount	$ 14,000

Employee Benefits (Details)

Employee Benefits (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Compensation and Retirement Disclosure [Abstract]
Maximum contribution by participants under the 401(k) savings plan (as a percent)	60.00%
Employer's matching contribution in common stock as a percentage of a participant's total compensation, percent	4.50%
Common stock issued under the 401(k) savings plan (in shares)	319,309	131,113
Related expense for common stock issued under the 401(k) savings plan	$ 281	$ 323

U.S. Department of Energy Gra55

U.S. Department of Energy Grants (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2012
Renewable Enhanced Feedstock for Advanced Biofuels and Bioproducts
Research and Development Arrangement, Contract to Perform for Others [Line Items]
Multi-year grant agreement amount			$ 6,000,000
Prorated cost-sharing obligation amount			$ 3,900,000
Revenue recognized related to the multi-year grant agreement	$ 1,028,000
Production of High Oil, Transgene Free Camelina Sativa Plants through Genome Editing
Research and Development Arrangement, Contract to Perform for Others [Line Items]
Prorated cost-sharing obligation amount	500,000
Revenue recognized related to the multi-year grant agreement	913,000	$ 33,000
Government contract receivable, unbilled amounts	$ 2,000,000

Discontinued Operation (Details

Discontinued Operation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Costs and Expenses [Abstract]
Total net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$ 1,585	$ (11,241)
Metabolix GmbH
Disposal Group, Including Discontinued Operation, Income Statement Disclosures [Abstract]
Total revenue	4,945	1,244
Costs and Expenses [Abstract]
Cost of product revenue	793	660
Research and development	9,854	9,970
Selling, general and administrative	1,449	1,888
Net gain on sales of biopolymer assets	(9,833)	0
Other expense	0	(33)
Total costs and expenses	2,263	12,485
Total net income (loss) from discontinued operations	$ 2,682	$ (11,241)

Discontinued Operation - Narrat

Discontinued Operation - Narrative (Details) $ in Thousands	Sep. 16, 2016USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016position	Dec. 31, 2016USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Assets of disposal group classified as held for sale			$ 0	$ 328
Number of positions eliminated | position		45
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment			10,317	40
Other assets of disposal group classified as held for sale			0	$ 800
CJ Cheil Jedang Corporation
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment	$ 10,000
Net gain on sales of biopolymer assets			(9,868)
Other Parties
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment	$ 428
Net gain on sales of biopolymer assets			$ (35)

Discontinued Operation - Non-ca

Discontinued Operation - Non-cash Operating (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Depreciation	$ 515	$ 265
Charge for 401(k) company common stock match	281	323
Stock-based compensation	848	2,128
Inventory impairment	199	209
Investing item:
Purchases of property and equipment	(752)	(654)
Metabolix GmbH
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Depreciation	326	147
Charge for 401(k) company common stock match	118	167
Stock-based compensation	217	663
Inventory impairment	199	209
Non-cash restructuring expense paid through stock and equipment	196	0
Gain on sale of discontinued operation and property and equipment	(9,833)	(33)
Investing item:
Purchases of property and equipment	$ (193)	$ 615

Restructuring (Details)

Restructuring (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Paid through Stock and Equipment	$ 196,000	$ 0
Employee Severance and Related Costs
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Restructuring Reserve	238,000	0
Discontinued operations
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Adjustments to Charges	562,000
Paid in Cash	(1,281,000)
Paid through Stock and Equipment	(196,000)
Restructuring Reserve	2,048,000	2,963,000
Discontinued operations | Biopolymer Production Agreements
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Loss on contract termination	2,641,000
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Adjustments to Charges	0
Paid in Cash	(1,023,000)
Paid through Stock and Equipment	(196,000)
Restructuring Reserve	1,422,000
Discontinued operations | Employee Severance and Related Costs
Restructuring Reserve [Roll Forward]
Adjustments to Charges	562,000
Paid in Cash	(258,000)
Paid through Stock and Equipment	0
Restructuring Reserve	$ 626,000	$ 322,000

Restructuring - Textual Details

Restructuring - Textual Details (Details) - USD ($) shares in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Commercial manufacturing	$ 939,000	$ 465,000
Contract termination obligation, net of current portion	489,000	0
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs	(296,000)	14,703,000
Transfer of equipment to settle contractual liability	111,000	0
Biopolymer Production Agreements
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Commercial manufacturing	$ 933,000
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement (in shares)	275
Issuance of stock in connection with private placement, net of offering costs	$ 85,000
Transfer of equipment to settle contractual liability	111,000
Employee severance
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring Reserve	$ 238,000	$ 0

Geographic Information (Details

Geographic Information (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Geographic Information
Net revenues to unaffiliated customers	$ 1,159	$ 1,350
Revenues	1,159	1,350
Identifiable long-lived assets	1,739	105
U.S.
Geographic Information
Net revenues to unaffiliated customers	1,159	1,349
Revenues	1,159	1,349
Identifiable long-lived assets	1,739	103
Canada
Geographic Information
Net revenues to unaffiliated customers	0	1
Revenues	906	770
Identifiable long-lived assets	0	2
Eliminations
Geographic Information
Revenues	(906)	(769)
Inter-geographic revenues | Canada
Geographic Information
Revenues	906	769
Inter-geographic revenues | Eliminations
Geographic Information
Revenues	$ (906)	$ (769)

Geographic Information (Detai62

Geographic Information (Details 2) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Revenue earned
Revenue earned from grant	$ 1,159	$ 1,350
BETO
Revenue earned
Revenue earned from grant	913
North Carolina State University
Revenue earned
Revenue earned from grant	$ 246
U.S. Department of Energy
Revenue earned
Revenue earned from grant		$ 1,028
Revenues | BETO
Revenue earned
Percentage of total revenue	79.00%
Revenues | North Carolina State University
Revenue earned
Percentage of total revenue	21.00%
Revenues | U.S. Department of Energy
Revenue earned
Percentage of total revenue		76.00%

Summary of Quarterly Financial

Summary of Quarterly Financial Data (unaudited) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2016	Dec. 31, 2015
Quarterly Financial Information Disclosure [Abstract]
Total revenues	$ 1,159	$ 1,350
Loss from continuing operations	(10,248)	(12,469)
Loss from discontinued operations	1,585	(11,241)
Net loss	$ (7,604)	$ (23,681)