International Stem Cell (ISCO) 10-Q 11 May 15 2015 Q1 Quarterly report Financial data

Document_and_Entity_Informatio

Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	5-May-15
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	FALSE
Document Period End Date	31-Mar-15
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	ISCO
Entity Registrant Name	International Stem Cell CORP
Entity Central Index Key	1355790
Current Fiscal Year End Date	-19
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		270,724,907

Condensed_Consolidated_Balance

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (2015 Unaudited) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Assets
Cash and cash equivalents	$611,000	$1,111,000
Accounts receivable, net of allowance for doubtful accounts of $19 at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014	436,000	453,000
Inventory, net	1,668,000	1,517,000
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	384,000	485,000
Restricted cash	50,000	50,000
Total current assets	3,149,000	3,616,000
Property and equipment, net	630,000	714,000
Intangible assets, net	2,863,000	2,795,000
Deposits and other assets	51,000	54,000
Total assets	6,693,000	7,179,000
Liabilities and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Accounts payable	1,765,000	670,000
Accrued liabilities	1,386,000	1,711,000
Related party payable	16,000	11,000
Advances	250,000	250,000
Fair value of warrant liability	3,355,000	4,216,000
Total current liabilities	6,772,000	6,858,000
Commitments and contingencies
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Common stock	262,000	239,000
Additional paid-in capital	95,690,000	94,826,000
Accumulated deficit	-96,036,000	-94,749,000
Total stockholders' equity (deficit)	-79,000	321,000
Total liabilities and stockholders' equity (deficit)	6,693,000	7,179,000
Series B Preferred Stock
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Preferred stock
Series D Preferred Stock
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Preferred stock
Series G Preferred Stock
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Preferred stock	5,000	5,000
Series H-1 Preferred Stock [Member]
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Preferred stock
Series H-2 Preferred Stock [Member]
Stockholders' Equity (Deficit)
Preferred stock

Condensed_Consolidated_Balance1

Condensed Consolidated Balance Sheets (2015 Unaudited) (Parenthetical) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified
Allowance for doubtful accounts receivable	$19	$19
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	20,000,000
Common stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Common stock, shares authorized	720,000,000	720,000,000
Common stock, shares issued	262,117,307	239,429,170
Common stock, shares outstanding	262,117,307	239,429,170
Series B Preferred Stock
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	300,000	300,000
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	300,000	300,000
Liquidation preference	426	421
Series D Preferred Stock
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	50	50
Preferred stock, shares issued	43	43
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	43	43
Liquidation preference	4,320	4,320
Series G Preferred Stock
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	5,000,000	5,000,000
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	5,000,000	5,000,000
Liquidation preference	$5,000	$5,000
Series H-1 Preferred Stock [Member]
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	2,000	2,000
Preferred stock, shares issued	895	1,482
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	895	1,482
Series H-2 Preferred Stock [Member]
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, shares authorized	500	500
Preferred stock, shares issued	500	500
Preferred stock, shares outstanding	500	500

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations (USD $)	3 Months Ended
Share data in Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Revenues
Product sales	$1,622,000	$1,649,000
Total revenue	1,622,000	1,649,000
Expenses
Cost of sales	418,000	439,000
Research and development	1,118,000	958,000
Selling and marketing	654,000	669,000
General and administrative	1,398,000	1,648,000
Total expenses	3,588,000	3,714,000
Loss from operating activities	-1,966,000	-2,065,000
Other income (expense)
Change in fair value of warrant liability	679,000	623,000
Interest expense	-1,000	-1,000
Sublease income	1,000	8,000
Total other income, net	679,000	630,000
Loss before income taxes	-1,287,000	-1,435,000
Provision for income taxes	0
Net loss	-1,287,000	-1,435,000
Net loss applicable to common stockholders	($1,287,000)	($1,435,000)
Net loss per common share-basic and diluted	($0.01)	($0.01)
Weighted average shares-basic	245,556	153,488
Weighted average shares-diluted	274,518	153,488

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme1

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) (2015 Unaudited) (USD $)	Total	Series D Preferred Stock	Convertible Redeemable Preferred Stock [Member]	Common Stock [Member]	Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]	Additional Paid-in Capital [Member]	Accumulated Deficit [Member]
	USD ($)		Series G Preferred Stock	USD ($)	Series G Preferred Stock	Series B Preferred Stock	Series H-1 Preferred Stock [Member]	Series H-2 Preferred Stock [Member]	USD ($)	USD ($)
			USD ($)		USD ($)		USD ($)	USD ($)
Beginning balance at Dec. 31, 2013	($4,223,000)		$4,941,000	$151,000					$77,897,000	($82,271,000)
Beginning balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2013			5,000,000	151,175,000		300,000
Issuance of common stock
For cash, net of issuance costs of $169 in 2013	3,600,000			27,000					3,573,000
For cash, net of issuance costs of $169 in 2013, shares				27,598,000
For services	191,000			1,000					190,000
For services, shares				1,096,000
From exercises of warrants, amount	444,000			6,000					438,000
From exercises of warrants, shares				5,894,000
For warrant exchange, net of issuance costs of $49 in 2013	6,428,000			45,000					6,383,000
For warrant exchange, net of issuance costs of $49 in 2013, shares				44,666,000
Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock				9,000			-1,000		-9,000
Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock, shares				9,000,000
Stock-based compensation	1,418,000								1,418,000
Waiver of redemption feature for Series G preferred stock	4,941,000		-4,941,000		5,000				4,936,000
Waiver of redemption feature for Series G preferred stock, shares			-5,000,000		5,000,000
Net loss	-12,478,000									-12,478,000
Issuance of preferred stock, shares							2,000	1,000
Ending balance at Dec. 31, 2014	321,000			239,000	5,000				94,826,000	-94,749,000
Ending balance, shares at Dec. 31, 2014				239,429,000	5,000,000	300,000	1,000	1,000
Issuance of common stock
For services	25,000			1,000					24,000
For services, shares				400,000
From exercises of warrants, amount	612,000			10,000					602,000
From exercises of warrants, shares				9,617,000
For warrant exchange, net of issuance costs of $49 in 2013	6,428,000
Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock				12,000			-1,000		-12,000
Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock, shares				12,671,432
Stock-based compensation	250,000								250,000
Net loss	-1,287,000									-1,287,000
Ending balance at Mar. 31, 2015	($79,000)			$262,000	$5,000			$1,000	$95,690,000	($96,036,000)
Ending balance, shares at Mar. 31, 2015				262,117,000	5,000,000	300,000

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme2

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Changes in Redeemable Convertible Preferred Stock and Stockholders' Deficit (2014 Unaudited) (Parenthetical) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Dec. 31, 2014
Statement Of Stockholders Equity [Abstract]
For cash, issuance costs	$169
Warrant exchange, issuance costs	$49

Condensed_Consolidated_Stateme3

Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows (Unaudited) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Cash flows from operating activities
Net loss	($1,287)	($1,435)
Adjustments to reconcile net loss to net cash used in operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization	131	116
Stock-based compensation expense	250	347
Common stock issued for services	25	39
Change in fair value of warrant liability	-679	-623
Allowance for inventory obsolescence	-98	4
Impairment of intangible assets	52	36
Changes in operating assets and liabilities
(Increase) decrease in accounts receivable	17	-195
(Increase) decrease in inventory	-53	8
(Increase) decrease in prepaid assets and other assets	101	22
(Increase) decrease in deposits	3
Increase (decrease) in accounts payable	1,095	-14
Increase (decrease) in accrued liabilities	-326	-338
Increase (decrease) in deferred revenue		-3
Increase (decrease) in related party payable	5	5
Net cash used in operating activities	-764	-2,031
Investing activities
Purchases of property and equipment	-15	-13
Payments for patent licenses and trademarks	-152	-143
Net cash used in investing activities	-167	-156
Financing activities
Proceeds from issuance of common stock		1,104
Proceeds from exercise of warrants and options	431
Payment of offering costs		-169
Net cash provided by financing activities	431	935
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents	-500	-1,252
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period	1,111	2,243
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period	611	991
Supplemental disclosure of cash flow information
Cash paid for interest	$1	$1

Organization_and_Significant_A

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Organization and Significant Accounting Policies	1. Organization and Significant Accounting Policies
	Business Combination and Corporate Restructure
	BTHC III, Inc. (“BTHC III” or the “Company”) was organized in Delaware in June 2005 as a shell company to effect the reincorporation of BTHC III, LLC, a Texas limited liability company. On December 28, 2006, the Company effected a Share Exchange pursuant to which it acquired all of the stock of International Stem Cell Corporation, a California corporation (“ISC California”). After giving effect to the Share Exchange, the stockholders of ISC California owned 93.7% of issued and outstanding shares of common stock. As a result of the Share Exchange, ISC California is now the wholly-owned subsidiary, though for accounting purposes it was deemed to have been the acquirer in a “reverse merger.” In the reverse merger, BTHC III is considered the legal acquirer and ISC California is considered the accounting acquirer. On January 29, 2007, the Company changed its name from BTHC III, Inc. to International Stem Cell Corporation.
	Lifeline Cell Technology, LLC (“LCT”) was formed in the State of California on August 17, 2001. LCT is in the business of developing and manufacturing purified primary human cells and optimized reagents for cell culture. LCT’s scientists have used a technology, called basal medium optimization, to systematically produce products designed to culture specific human cell types and to elicit specific cellular behaviors. These techniques also produce products that do not contain non-human animal proteins, a feature desirable to the research and therapeutic markets. LCT distinguishes itself in the industry by having in place scientific and manufacturing staff with the experience and knowledge to set up systems and facilities to produce a source of consistent, standardized, non-human animal protein free cell products, some of which are suitable for FDA approval.
	On July 1, 2006, LCT entered into an agreement among LCT, ISC California and the holders of membership units and warrants. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, all the membership units in LCT were exchanged for 20,000,000 shares of ISC California Common Stock and for ISC California’s assumption of LCT’s obligations under the warrants. LCT became a wholly-owned subsidiary of ISC California.
	Lifeline Skin Care, Inc. (“LSC”) was formed in the State of California on June 5, 2009 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ISC California. LSC develops, manufactures and markets cosmeceutical products, utilizing an extract derived from the Company’s human parthenogenetic stem cell technologies.
	Cyto Therapeutics was registered in the state of Victoria, Australia, on December 19, 2014 and is a limited proprietary company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Cyto Therapeutics is a research and development company for the Therapeutic Market, which conducts clinical trials in Australia for the use of hpSCs in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
	Going Concern
	The Company needs to raise additional working capital. The timing and degree of any future capital requirements will depend on many factors. Currently, the Company’s burn rate is approximately $255,000 per month, excluding capital expenditures and patent costs averaging $56,000 per month. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in maintaining its normal operating cash flow, and that such cash flows will be sufficient to sustain the Company’s operations through 2015. Based on the above, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
	Management’s plans in regard to these matters are focused on managing its cash flow, the proper timing of its capital expenditures, and raising additional capital or financing in the future. In December 2013, the Company filed a registration statement with the Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which allowed the Company to sell up to $10,250,000 of common stock to Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) from time to time through January 2017 at the Company’s discretion pursuant to the terms of a Common Stock Purchase Agreement entered into with Lincoln Park on December 10, 2013 (the “Purchase Agreement”). In connection with agreements entered into as part of a private placement effected on October 14, 2014 (the “October 2014 private placement”), the Company may not sell shares to Lincoln Park until March 2016.  Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the October 2014 private placement, the Company was unable to issue securities, subject to certain exceptions, until May 7, 2015.  For further discussion, see Note 6.
	Basis of Presentation
	The Company is a biotechnology company focused on therapeutic and clinical product development with multiple long-term therapeutic opportunities and two revenue-generating subsidiaries with potential for increased future revenues.
	The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q.
	These financial statements do not include all information and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. However, except as disclosed herein, there has been no material change in the information disclosed in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in the annual report on Form 10-K of International Stem Cell Corporation and Subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2014.
	The unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the interim periods presented reflects all adjustments, consisting of only normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014 included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for any other interim period or an entire year.
	Principles of Consolidation
	The Company’s consolidated financial statements include the accounts of International Stem Cell Corporation and its subsidiaries after intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
	Cash Equivalents
	The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
	Restricted Cash
	The Company is required to maintain $50,000 in a restricted certificate of deposit account in order to fully collateralize two revolving credit card accounts.
	Inventories
	Inventories are accounted for using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method for our Lifeline Cell Technology (“LCT”) cell culture media and reagents, average cost and specific identification methods for our Lifeline Skin Care (“LSC”) products, and specific identification method for our Lifeline Cell Technology products.  We state our inventory balances at the lower of cost or market. Lab supplies used in the research and development process are expensed as consumed. Inventory is reviewed periodically for product expiration and obsolescence and is adjusted accordingly.
	Accounts Receivable
	Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the net invoice value and are not interest bearing. Accounts receivable primarily consist of trade accounts receivable from the sales of LCT’s products, timing of cash receipts by the Company related to LSC credit card sales to customers, as well as LSC trade receivable amounts related to spa and distributor sales. The Company considers receivables past due based on the contractual payment terms. The Company reviews its exposure to accounts receivable and reserves specific amounts if collectability is no longer reasonably assured. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had an allowance for doubtful accounts totaling $19,000.
	Property and Equipment
	Property and equipment are stated at cost. The provision for depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally over five years. The costs of major remodeling and leasehold improvements are capitalized and amortized over the shorter of the remaining term of the lease or the life of the asset.
	Intangible Assets
	Intangible assets consist of acquired research and development rights used in research and development, and capitalized legal fees related to the acquisition, filing, maintenance, and defense of patents. Patent or patent license amortization only begins once a patent license is acquired or a patent is issued by the appropriate authoritative bodies. In the period in which a patent application is rejected or efforts to pursue the patent are abandoned, all the related accumulated costs are expensed. Patents and patent licenses are recorded at cost of $3,467,000 and $3,367,000 at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lives of the underlying patents or the useful life of the license.
	Long-Lived Asset Impairment
	The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in business conditions indicate that their carrying value may not be recovered, and at least annually. The Company considers assets to be impaired and writes them down to fair value if expected associated undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amounts. Fair value is the present value of the associated cash flows. The Company recognized $52,000 and $36,000 of impairments on its long-lived assets during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
	Product Sales
	The Company recognizes revenue from product sales at the time of shipment to the customer, provided no significant obligations remain and collection of the receivable is reasonably assured. If the customer has a right of return, the Company recognizes product revenues upon shipment, provided that future returns can be reasonably estimated. In the case where returns cannot be reasonably estimated, revenue will be deferred until such estimates can be made or the right of return has lapsed. LCT contributed 48% and 51% of total revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. LSC contributed 52% and 49% of total revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
	Deferred Revenue and Allowance for Sales Returns
	The Company recognizes revenue from product sales when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. However, the LSC products have a 30-day product return guarantee for website sales. The Company has estimated the historical rate of returns for the 30-day product return guarantee, which has remained consistent for the three months ended March 31, 2015 as compared to the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the estimated allowance for sales returns was $10,000. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, net deferred revenue totaled $0.
	Cost of Sales
	Cost of sales consists primarily of salaries and benefits associated with employee efforts expended directly on the production of the Company’s products and include related direct materials, general laboratory supplies and allocation of overhead. Certain of the agreements under which the Company has licensed technology will require the payment of royalties based on the sale of its future products. Such royalties will be recorded as a component of cost of sales. Additionally, the amortization of license fees or milestone payments related to developed technologies used in the Company’s products will be classified as a component of cost of sales to the extent such payments become due in the future.
	Research and Development Costs
	Research and development costs, which are expensed as incurred, are primarily comprised of costs and expenses for salaries and benefits associated with research and development personnel, overhead and occupancy, contract services, and amortization of license costs for technology used in research and development with alternative future uses.
	Stock-Based Compensation
	The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense associated with stock options and other stock-based awards in accordance with the authoritative guidance for stock-based compensation. The cost of a stock-based award is measured at the grant date based on the estimated fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis, net of estimated forfeitures over the requisite service period of the award. The fair value of stock options is estimated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including price volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, and expected life of the option. The fair value of restricted stock awards is based on the market value of our common stock on the date of grant.
	Fair Value Measurements
	Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value are reported using a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. This hierarchy maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:
	Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;
	Level 2	Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
	Level 3	Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity).
	Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2015 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	3,355		$	—	$	—	$	3,355
	The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2014 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	4,216		$	—	$	—	$	4,216
	The following table displays the rollforward activity of liabilities with inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity) (in thousands):
		Warrants to purchase
		common stock
	Beginning balance at December 31, 2013	$	4,925
	Issuances of warrants		4,831
	Exercise of warrants		(104	)
Adjustments to estimated fair value		(2,405	)
Warrants exchanged for common stock		(3,031	)
Ending balance at December 31, 2014		4,216
Exercise of warrants		(182	)
Adjustments to estimated fair value		(679	)
Ending balance at March 31, 2015	$	3,355
Income Taxes
The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with applicable authoritative guidance, which requires the Company to provide a net deferred tax asset/liability equal to the expected future tax benefit/expense of temporary reporting differences between book and tax accounting methods and any available operating loss or tax credit carryforwards.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Significant estimates include patent life (remaining legal life versus remaining useful life), inventory carrying values, allowance for sales returns and bad debt, and transactions using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, e.g., warrants and stock options, as well as the Monte-Carlo valuation method for certain warrants. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments
The Company believes that the carrying value of its cash and cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 approximate their fair values because of the short-term nature of those instruments. The fair value of certain warrants was determined at each quarterly reporting date as necessary using the Monte-Carlo valuation methodology.
Income (Loss) Per Common Share
The computation of net loss per common share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during each period. The computation of diluted earnings per common share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period plus the common stock equivalents, which would arise from the exercise of stock options and warrants outstanding using the treasury stock method and the average market price per share during the period. At March 31, 2015, there were 245,000 non-vested restricted stock awards, 21,593,307 vested and 8,833,446 non-vested stock options outstanding, and 117,891,242 warrants outstanding; and at March 31, 2014, there were 552,625 non-vested restricted stock awards, 45,650,654 shares issuable upon exercise of warrants, and 19,431,138 vested and 3,848,655 non-vested stock options outstanding. These restricted stock awards, stock options and warrants, other than certain in-the-money warrants at March 31, 2015, were not included in the diluted loss per share calculation because the effect would have been anti-dilutive. Warrants exercisable into 110,128,742 common shares were considered dilutive at March 31, 2015, however, their inclusion into the loss per share calculation did not yield a materially different result.
Comprehensive Income
Comprehensive income or loss includes all changes in equity except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. The Company did not have any items of comprehensive income or loss other than net loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
Registration Payment Arrangements
In accordance with applicable authoritative guidance, the Company is required to separately recognize and measure registration payment arrangements, whether issued as a separate agreement or included as a provision of a financial instrument or other agreement. Such payments include penalties for failure to effect a registration of securities.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements
In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers.  The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective.  In 2015, FASB has tentatively deferred ASU No. 2014-09 for one year, and with that deferral, ASU No. 2014-09 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, which for us will be our 2018 fiscal quarter.  The standard permits the use of either retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.  The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting.

Inventory

Inventory	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Inventory	2. Inventory
	The components of inventories are as follows (in thousands):
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
	Raw materials	$	202		$	191
	Work in process		619			507
	Finished goods		942			1,012
	Total		1,763			1,710
	Less: allowance for inventory obsolescence		(95	)		(193	)
	Inventory, net	$	1,668		$	1,517

Property_and_Equipment

Property and Equipment	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]
Property and Equipment	3. Property and Equipment
	Property and equipment consists of the following (in thousands):
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
	Machinery and equipment	$	1,358		$	1,357
	Computer equipment		306			294
	Office equipment		203			203
	Leasehold improvements		756			756
	Construction in progress		2			—
			2,625			2,610
	Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,995	)		(1,896	)
	Property and equipment, net	$	630		$	714
	Depreciation expenses for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 were $99,000 and $101,000, respectively.

Patent_Licenses

Patent Licenses	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Patent Licenses	4. Patent Licenses
	On December 31, 2003, LCT entered into an Option to License Intellectual Property agreement with Advanced Cell Technology, Inc., which changed its name to Ocata Therapeutics, Inc. (“Ocata”) for patent rights and paid Ocata $340,000 in option and license fees. On February 13, 2004, LCT and Ocata amended the Option agreement and LCT paid Ocata additional option fees of $22,500 for fees related to registering Ocata’s patents in selected international countries.
	On May 14, 2004, LCT amended the licensing agreement with Ocata for the exclusive worldwide patent rights for the following Ocata technologies: UMass IP, ACT IP and Infigen IP. The additional license fees paid were $400,000.
	On February 7, 2013, the Company and Ocata entered into Amended and Restated License Agreements (the “Amendment”) for the purpose of completely amending and restating the terms of the license agreements. Under the terms of the Amendment, the Company acquired exclusive world-wide rights to all human therapeutic uses and cosmetic uses from Ocata and Infigen’s early work on parthenogenic-derived embryonic stem cells, as well as certain rights to patents covering Single Blastomere technology.
	Pursuant to the Amendment, all minimum R&D requirements and all milestone payments due to Ocata under the Exclusive License Agreement have been eliminated. The Company will no longer pay any royalties under the ACT IP Agreement and Infigen IP Agreement. The obligation to pay royalties that ranged from 6%-12% under the UMass IP Agreement has been reduced to 0.25% of the net sales of products using technology covered by the UMass IP Agreement; and the obligation to pay a minimum annual license fee of $150,000 has been reduced to $75,000 annually, payable in two installments to Ocata. As of March 31, 2015, the total amount capitalized related to the acquired Ocata licenses was $747,000, and $2,720,000 related to the other patent acquisition costs.
	Patents and patent licenses were recorded at cost of $3,467,000 and $3,367,000 at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively. Amortization expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was $32,000 and $15,000, respectively. All amortization expense related to intangible assets is included in general and administrative expense. Accumulated amortization as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 was $604,000 and $572,000, respectively.
	At March 31, 2015, future amortization expense related to intangible assets subject to amortization is expected to be as follows (in thousands):
		Amount
	2015 (remaining nine months)	$	59
	2016		78
	2017		78
	2018		78
	2019		45
	Thereafter		2,479
	Total	$	2,817

Advances

Advances	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Advances [Abstract]
Advances	5. Advances
	On June 18, 2008, the Company entered into an agreement with BioTime, Inc. (“Bio Time”), where Bio Time will pay an advance of $250,000 to LCT to produce, make, and distribute Joint Products. The $250,000 advance will be paid down with the first $250,000 of net revenues that otherwise would be allocated to LCT under the agreement. As of March 31, 2015, no revenues were realized from this agreement.
		March 31,		December 31,
		2015		2014
	BioTime, Inc. (in thousands)	$	250	$	250

Capital_Stock

Capital Stock	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Equity [Abstract]
Capital Stock	6. Capital Stock
	As of March 31, 2015, the Company is authorized to issue 720,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, and 20,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share.
	Preferred Stock Transactions
	Series B Preferred Stock
	On May 12, 2008, to obtain funding for working capital, the Company entered into a series of subscription agreements with five accredited investors for the sale of a total of 400,000 Series B Units, each Series B Unit consisting of one share of Series B Preferred Stock (“Series B Preferred”) and two Series B Warrants (“Series B Warrants”) to purchase common stock for each $1.00 invested.
	The total purchase price received by the Company was $400,000. The Series B Preferred is convertible into shares of common stock at the initial conversion ratio of two shares of common stock for each share of Series B Preferred converted (which was established based on an initial conversion price of $0.50 per share), and the Series B Warrants were exercisable at $0.50 per share until five years from the issuance of the Series B Warrants, which expired unexercised in May 2013. The Series B Preferred contain anti-dilution clauses whereby, if the Company issues equity securities or securities convertible into equity at a price below the conversion price of the Series B Preferred, such conversion price shall be adjusted downward to equal the price of the new securities. In October 2014, the Company issued Preferred Stock which had an initial conversion price of $0.06447, which in November 2014 was adjusted down to $0.0576 and again in February 2015 further down to $0.0448. Accordingly, these transactions triggered adjustments in the current conversion price of the Series B Preferred to $0.0448 per share. The Series B Preferred has a priority (senior to the shares of common stock and Series H Preferred) on any sale or liquidation of the Company equal to the purchase price of the Series B Units, plus a liquidation premium of 6% per year. If the Company elects to declare a dividend in any year, it must first pay to the Series B Preferred holder a dividend equal to the amount of the dividend the Series B Preferred holder would receive if the Series B Preferred were converted just prior to the dividend declaration. Each share of Series B Preferred has the same voting rights as the number of shares of common stock into which it would be convertible on the record date. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, there were 300,000 shares of the Series B Preferred issued and outstanding.
	Series D Preferred Stock
	On December 30, 2008, the Company entered into a Series D Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Series D Agreement”) with accredited investors (the “Investors”) and sold 43 shares of Series D Preferred Stock (“Series D Preferred”) for total proceeds of $4,700,000 at a price of $100,000 per Series D Preferred share.
	10 shares of the Series D Preferred were issued to X-Master Inc., which is a related party and affiliated with the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors, Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, Chief Scientific Officer and a director; and 33 shares of the Series D Preferred were issued to Dr. Andrey Semechkin. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, there were 43 shares of the Series D Preferred issued and outstanding.
	The Series D Preferred was initially convertible into shares of common stock at $0.25 per share, resulting in an initial conversion ratio of 400,000 shares of common stock for every share of Series D Preferred. The Series D Preferred has an anti-dilution clause whereby, if the Company issues equity securities or securities convertible into equity at a price below the conversion price of the Series D Preferred, the conversion price of the Series D Preferred shall be adjusted downward to equal the price of the new securities. The Series D Preferred has priority over the Series A Preferred Stock, Series B Preferred Stock and Common Stock on the proceeds from any sale or liquidation of the Company in an amount equal to the purchase price of the Series D Preferred.
	In October 2014, the Company issued Preferred Stock which had an initial conversion price of $0.06447, which in November 2014 was adjusted down to $0.0576 and again in February 2015 further down to $0.0448. Accordingly, these transactions triggered adjustments in the current conversion price of the Series D Preferred to $0.0448.
	Series G Preferred Stock
	On March 9, 2012, the Company entered into a Series G Preferred Stock Purchase Agreement (the “Series G Agreement”) with AR Partners, LLC (the “Purchaser”) to sell 5,000,000 shares of Series G Preferred Stock (“Series G Preferred”) at a price of $1.00 per Series G Preferred share, for a total purchase price of $5,000,000. The Purchaser is an affiliate of Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, Chief Scientific Officer and a director.
	The Series G Preferred was initially convertible into shares of common stock at $0.40 per share, resulting in an initial conversion ratio of 2.5 shares of common stock for every share of Series G Preferred. The conversion price may be adjusted for stock splits and other combinations, dividends and distributions, recapitalizations and reclassifications, exchanges or substitutions and is subject to a weighted-average adjustment in the event of the issuance of additional shares of common stock below the conversion price.
	The Series G Preferred shares have priority over the Series B Preferred, Series H Preferred and common stock on the proceeds from any sale or liquidation of the Company in an amount equal to the purchase price of the Series G Preferred, but such payment may be made only after payment in full of the liquidation preferences payable to holders of any shares of Series D Preferred then outstanding. Each share of Series G Preferred has the same voting rights as the number of shares of common stock into which it would be convertible on the record date. As long as there are at least 1,000,000 shares of Series G Preferred outstanding, the holders of Series G Preferred have (i) the initial right to propose the nomination of two members of the Board, at least one of which such nominees shall be subject to the approval of the Company’s independent directors, for election by the stockholder’s at the Company’s next annual meeting of stockholders, or, elected by the full board of directors to fill a vacancy, as the case may be, and (ii) the right to approve any amendment to the certificate of incorporation, certificates of designation or bylaws, in manner adverse to the Series G Preferred, alter the percentage of board seats held by the Series G Preferred directors or increase the authorized number of shares of Series G Preferred. At least one of the two directors nominated by holders of the Series G Preferred shall be independent based on the NASDAQ listing requirements.
	The Company determined that the Series G Preferred had a contingent redemption feature allowing redemption by the holder under only some very limited circumstances (“deemed liquidation events”). As the event that may trigger the redemption of the convertible preferred stock was not solely within the Company’s control, the convertible preferred stock was classified as mezzanine equity (outside of permanent equity) on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet upon issuance. Additionally, legal costs related to the Series G Preferred financing in the amount of $59,000 were recorded in the mezzanine equity as well. On December 31, 2014, the Company entered into a Waiver Agreement with all of the holders of its Series G Preferred Stock, whereby the holders irrevocably and unconditionally waived all rights they held to require the Company to redeem any or all shares of the Series G Preferred Stock and to receive any payments and any other rights accruing to them by reason of the failure of the Company to redeem shares of Series G Preferred Stock, pursuant to the terms of the Series G Certificate of Designation. Holders of Series G Preferred Stock are Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, each of whom is a director and executive officer of the Company, and affiliated entities of Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin. Subsequent to the signing of the Waiver Agreement, the Series G Preferred Stock is classified within permanent equity on the Company’s condensed consolidated balance sheet.
	As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, there were 5,000,000 shares of the Series G Preferred issued and outstanding.
	In October 2014, the Company issued Series H Preferred Stock which had an initial conversion price of $0.06447, which in November 2014 was adjusted down to $0.0576 and again in February 2015 further down to $0.0448. Accordingly, these transactions triggered an adjustment in the current conversion price and conversion ratio of the Series G Preferred to $0.1979 per share and 5.0518 shares, respectively.
	Series H Preferred Stock
	On October 14, 2014, pursuant to a securities purchase agreement (the “Securities Purchase Agreement”), dated as of October 7, 2014, with Sabby Healthcare Volatility Master Fund, Ltd., Sabby Volatility Warrant Master Fund, Ltd., and Andrey and Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman and Chief Scientific Officer and Director, respectively, (together, the “Purchasers”), the Company sold in a private placement (the “Private Placement”) (i) 2,000 shares of Series H-1 and 500 shares of Series H-2 Convertible Preferred Stock, par value $0.001 with a stated value of $1,000 per share (the “Series H Preferred Stock”), convertible into 38,777,726 shares of common stock at an initial conversion price of $0.06447, (ii) Series A warrants (the “Series A Warrants”) to purchase up to 38,777,726 shares of common stock for an initial exercise price of $0.0921 per share exercisable immediately and having a term of 5.5 years, (iii) Series B warrants (the “Series B Warrants”) to purchase up to 38,777,726 shares of common stock for an initial exercise price of $0.06447 per share exercisable immediately and having a term of 6 months, (iv) Series C warrants (the “Series C Warrants”, together with the Series A Warrants and the Series B Warrants, collectively, the “Warrants”) to purchase up to 38,777,726 shares of common stock for an initial exercise price of $0.06447 per share exercisable immediately and having a term of 12 months. The aggregate initial gross proceeds received from this transaction were $2.5 million. On April 14, 2015, the Company and the holders of the Series B Warrants, issued in the October 2014 private placement, that remained outstanding as of that date, amended those remaining Series B Warrants to (i) extend the termination date to June 20, 2015; (ii) set the exercise price at $0.075 per share; (iii) remove certain price reset adjustment provisions to the exercise price and (iv) remove certain provisions related to cashless exercise, participation rights and anti-dilution effects of a subsequent financing.
	The number of shares issuable upon conversion of the Series H Preferred Stock and exercise of the Warrants are adjustable in the event of stock splits, stock dividends, combinations of shares and similar transactions, and pursuant to anti-dilution provisions. In addition, Purchasers have been granted rights of participation in future offerings of our securities for eighteen months from the date of the offering.
	The Securities Purchase Agreement entered into in the Private Placement required the Company to hold a special meeting of stockholders to seek stockholder approval of an increase in the number of authorized shares of common stock under the Company’s certificate of incorporation to 720,000,000 shares and approve a reverse stock split. The special meeting of stockholders was held on December 4, 2014 and the stockholders approved the increase in the authorized shares of common stock and the reverse stock split. In connection with the Private Placement, the Company also entered into a registration rights agreement, as amended, with the investors pursuant to which the Company was obligated to file registration statements to register the resale of (i) 200% of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series H Preferred Stock, and (ii) 100% of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants. In addition to the registration rights, the Purchasers are entitled to receive liquidated damages upon the occurrence of a number of events relating to filing, getting effective and maintaining effective registration statements covering the shares underlying the Series H Preferred Stock and the Warrants, including the failure of the Company to file a resale registration statement registering 200% of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series H Preferred Stock  by no later than November 13, 2014 and the failure of the Company to have such resale registration statement declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) by no later than December 13, 2014, subject to certain exceptions.  The Company filed such registration statement on November 3, 2014 and such registration was declared effective by the SEC on November 25, 2014.  Further, on January 16, 2015, the Company filed a registration statement registering 100% of the shares of common stock issuable upon exercise of the warrants, which was declared effective by the SEC on February 6, 2015.
	Subject to certain ownership limitations with respect to the Series H-1 Preferred Stock, the Series H Preferred Stock is convertible at any time into shares of Common Stock at an initial conversion price of $0.06447 per share. The Series H Preferred Stock is non-voting, is only entitled to dividends in the event that dividends are paid on the Common Stock, and will not have any preferences over the Common Stock, except that the Series H Preferred Stock shall have preferential liquidation rights over the Common Stock. Other than the Series H-1 Preferred Stock having a beneficial ownership limitation, the Series H-1 Preferred Stock and Series H-2 Preferred Stock are substantially identical. The conversion price of the Series H Preferred Stock is subject to certain resets as set forth in the Certificates of Designation, including the date of the amendment to the certificate of incorporation with respect to the reverse stock split, the effectiveness dates of the registration statements and the six and twelve month anniversaries of the Closing Date.
	The Warrants are immediately exercisable and the exercise price of the Warrants is subject to certain reset adjustments as set forth in the forms of Warrant, including the date of the amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation with respect to the reverse stock split, the effectiveness dates of the registration statements and the six and twelve month anniversaries of the date of issuance of the Warrants. Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company may not sell shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park, or otherwise enter into a variable rate transaction, until March 2016. Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the Company was unable to issue any of its securities until May 7, 2015 (the 90th day following the effective date of the last registration statement on Form S-1 registering all Registrable Securities (as defined in the registration rights agreement, as amended, entered into in connection with the Securities Purchase Agreement)). However, the Company may still issue securities in certain circumstances, including issuing shares in private placements to its officers, directors and employees at market prices and issuing securities pursuant to the Company’s equity incentive plans.
	H.C. Wainwright & Co. (the “Placement Agent”) acted as the exclusive placement agent for the Securities Purchase Agreement pursuant to a placement agency engagement letter, dated as of September 23, 2014, by and between the Placement Agent and the Company (the “Engagement Letter”). Upon the closing of the Securities Purchase Agreement, pursuant to the Engagement Letter, the Placement Agent received a placement agent fee of $200,000 and a warrant to purchase approximately 9,306,654 shares of common stock, as well as the reimbursement of fees and expenses up to $50,000. Similar to the Series A Warrant, the placement agent warrant will have an initial exercise price of $0.0921 per share, be immediately exercisable and will terminate 5.5 years after the date of issuance. In addition, the Placement Agent Warrants have the same down-round protection as the Series A Warrants.
	The Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed on November 3, 2014 with the SEC became effective after amendment on November 25, 2014 registering 200% of the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of the Series H Preferred Stock.  Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the conversion price of the Series H Preferred Stock and the exercise price of the Series A, B, C and Placement Agent Warrants was reset at $0.0448 per share.  During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the investors converted 586.88 shares of Series H Preferred Stock into 12,671,432 shares of our common stock. During year ended December 31, 2014, the investors converted 518.4 shares of Series H Preferred Stock into 9,000,000 shares of our common stock.
	See Note 9, Stock Options and Warrants, Warrants Issued with Series H Preferred Stock for detailed discussion of the anti-dilution provisions of the Series A, B, C and Placement Agent Warrants.
	Common Stock Transactions
	2013 Securities Purchase Agreements for Common Stock
	On January 22, 2013, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Simon Craw to sell a total of 10,125,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.20 per share, for a total purchase price of $2,025,000. Dr. Andrey Semechkin is the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Simon Craw is the Company’s Executive Vice President Business Development. The sale of the shares of common stock was completed on January 22, 2013. In connection with the sale of these shares, the Company issued to each purchaser a warrant, exercisable for a period of 5 years, to purchase a number of shares of common stock equal to 50% of the shares purchased by that purchaser, for a total of 5,062,500 shares subject to the warrants at an exercise price of $0.20 per share.
	On March 12, 2013, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with certain investors, including Dr. Andrey Semechkin, to sell a total of 5,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.20 per share, for a total purchase price of $1,000,000. Dr. Andrey Semechkin is the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and purchased $100,000 worth of common stock. Each of the other investors has had a long-standing relationship with the Company and has closely followed the Company. The sale of the shares of common stock was completed on March 12, 2013. In connection with the sale of these shares the Company issued to each investor a warrant, exercisable for a period of five years, to purchase a number of shares of common stock equal to 50% of the shares purchased by that investor, for a total of 2,500,000 shares subject to the warrants at an exercise price of $0.20 per share.
	2013 S-1 July Registered Offering
	See Note 9, Stock Options and Warrants, 2013 S-1 July Registered Offering and 2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements.
	2014 Securities Purchase Agreements for Common Stock
	On May 29, 2014, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin to sell a total of 3,333,333 shares of common stock at a price of $0.15 per share, for a total purchase price of $500,000. On June 26, 2014, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin to sell a total of 5,500,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.10 per share, for a total purchase price of $550,000. Dr. Andrey Semechkin is the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Ruslan Semechkin is the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer and director. On August 6, 2014, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin to sell a total of 6,000,000 shares of common stock at a price of $0.10 per share, for a total purchase price of $600,000. On September 10, 2014, to obtain funding for working capital purposes, the Company entered into a securities purchase agreement with Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin to sell a total of 4,444,445 shares of common stock at a price of $0.09 per share, for a total purchase price of $400,000.
	2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements
	On June 11, 2014, the Company entered into a series of warrant exchange agreements (the “Warrant Exchange Agreements”) with the holders of its Series A Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants that were issued by the Company pursuant to the 2013 S-1 July Registered Offering. Under the Warrant Exchange Agreements, the Company agreed to issue a total of 44,665,783 shares of common stock (the “Exchange Shares”) to the warrant holders in exchange for the cancellation of the Series A Warrants to purchase 36,554,822 shares of common stock and the Placement Agent Warrants to purchase 666,666 shares of common stock and Series A Warrants. Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer and director, respectively, participated on the same terms as the other warrant holders, agreeing to exchange Series A Warrants to purchase 10,088,154 shares of common stock for 12,105,784 shares of common stock. The closing of the transaction occurred on June 16, 2014 with the issuance of the Exchange Shares. Upon settlement of the exchange transaction, there were no remaining Series A Warrants or Placement Agent Warrants outstanding. See Note 9, Stock Options and Warrants, 2014 Warrants Exchange Agreements- for detailed discussion of the accounting treatment of the Warrant Exchange transaction.
	2013 Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC Stock Purchase Agreement
	On December 10, 2013, the Company entered into the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which Lincoln Park has agreed to purchase up to an aggregate of $10,250,000 of common stock (subject to certain limitations) from time to time through January 2017. Of the aggregate $10,250,000 of common stock that may be sold to Lincoln Park, on December 11, 2013, the Company sold 1,666,666 shares of common stock to Lincoln Park for an aggregate purchase price of $250,000 pursuant to the Purchase Agreement, which is referred to as the Initial Purchase. Upon execution of the Purchase Agreement, the Company paid to Lincoln Park $155,000, as a cash fee, for their commitment to purchase additional shares of common stock under the Purchase Agreement.
	Also on December 10, 2013, the Company entered into a Registration Rights Agreement with Lincoln Park, pursuant to which the Company filed with the SEC an S-1 Registration Statement to register for resale under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or the Securities Act, the shares that have been or may be issued to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement. The S-1 Registration Statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in December 2013 and amended in January 2014 was declared effective on January 13, 2014.
	During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company sold 0 shares to Lincoln Park. From commencement through to March 31, 2015, the Company has sold a total of 9,866,666 shares of common stock to Lincoln Park for an aggregate of $1,838,000 under the Agreement. As of March 31, 2015, there remained 10,133,334 shares available for sale up to a total of $8,412,000 under the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park.
	The Company may, from time to time and in its sole discretion, direct Lincoln Park to purchase shares of common stock in amounts up to 200,000 shares on any single business day so long as at least one business day has passed since the most recent purchase, which amounts may be increased to up to 300,000 shares and up to 400,000 shares, provided the closing price of the common stock exceeds a certain threshold, with a maximum limit of up to $500,000 per purchase, plus an additional “accelerated amount” under certain circumstances. There are no trading volume requirements or restrictions under the Purchase Agreement, and the Company will control the timing and amount of any sales of common stock to Lincoln Park. The purchase price of the shares that may be sold to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement will be based on the market price of the common stock immediately preceding the time of sale as computed under the Purchase Agreement without any fixed discount; provided that in no event will such shares be sold to Lincoln Park when the closing sale price is less than $0.05 per share, subject to adjustment as provided in the Purchase Agreement.
	The purchase price per share will be equitably adjusted for any reorganization, recapitalization, non-cash dividend, stock split, or other similar transaction occurring during the business days used to compute such price. The Company may at any time in its sole discretion terminate the Purchase Agreement without fee, penalty or cost upon one business day notice. Lincoln Park may not assign or transfer its rights and obligations under the Purchase Agreement.
	Pursuant to the terms of a securities purchase agreement entered into with investors in connection with a private placement effected October 14, 2014, the Company may not sell shares to Lincoln Park under the Purchase Agreement with Lincoln Park until March 2016.
	Reserved Shares
	At March 31, 2015, the Company had shares of common stock reserved for future issuance as follows:
	Options outstanding	30,426,753
	Options available for future grant	4,508,319
	Convertible preferred stock	159,069,618
	Warrants	117,891,242
		311,895,932

Related_Party_Transactions

Related Party Transactions	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related Party Transactions	7. Related Party Transactions
	Other than with respect to the purchases of Series D Preferred, Series G Preferred, Series H Preferred, and common stock transactions discussed above, the Company’s related party transactions were for a facility lease.
	During the first quarter of 2011, the Company executed an operating lease for its corporate offices with S Real Estate Holdings LLC. S Real Estate Holdings LLC is owned by Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer and a director and was previously owned by Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. The lease agreement was negotiated at arm’s length and was reviewed by the Company’s outside legal counsel. The terms of the lease were reviewed by a committee of independent directors, and the Company believes that, in total, those terms are at least as favorable to the Company as could be obtained for comparable facilities from an unaffiliated party. For the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, the Company recorded $35,000 in rent expense that was related to the facility lease arrangement with related parties.

Income_Taxes

Income Taxes	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Income Taxes	8. Income Taxes
	The Company estimated Federal and state tax losses for the current year and recorded a full valuation allowance against all net deferred tax assets. As such, no income tax provision has been recorded for the current period. The Company may be subject to IRC Code Sections 382 and 383, which could limit the amount of the net operating loss and tax credit carryovers that can be used in future years. The Company has not completed a study to assess whether an ownership change has occurred, as defined by IRC Code Sections 382 and 383, or whether there have been ownership changes since the Company’s formation due to the complexity and cost associated with such a study, and the fact that there may be additional such ownership changes in the future. The Company estimates that if such a change did occur, the federal and state net operating loss carryforwards and research and development credit carryforwards that can be utilized in the future will be significantly limited. There can be no assurances that the Company will ever be able to realize the benefit of some or all of the federal and state loss carryforwards or the credit carryforwards, either due to ongoing operating losses or due to ownership changes, which limit the usefulness of the carryforwards.

Stock_Options_and_Warrants

Stock Options and Warrants	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]
Stock Options and Warrants	9. Stock Options and Warrants
	Stock Options
	The Company adopted the 2006 Equity Participation Plan (the “2006 Plan”), which provides for the grant of stock options, restricted stock and other equity based awards. Awards for up to 15,000,000 shares may be granted to employees, directors and consultants under this Plan. The options granted under the 2006 Plan may be either qualified or non-qualified options. Options may be granted with different vesting terms and expire no later than 10 years from the date of grant.
	In April 2010, the Company adopted the 2010 Equity Participation Plan (the “2010 Plan”), which provides for the grant of stock options, restricted stock and other equity based awards. Awards for up to 18,000,000 shares may be granted to employees, directors and consultants under the 2010 Plan. The options granted under the 2010 Plan may be either qualified or non-qualified options. Options may be granted with different vesting terms and expire no later than 10 years from the date of grant.
	In November and December of 2009, the Company issued non-qualified stock options to purchase 10,257,593 shares of common stock outside the 2006 and 2010 option plans to certain employees and consultants. These options vest over 50 months and expire no later than 10 years from the date of grant.
	Total stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was comprised of the following (in thousands):
		Three Months Ended			Three Months Ended
		March 31,			March 31,
		2015			2014
	Cost of sales	$	7		$	15
	Research and development		60			70
	Selling and marketing		9			11
	General and administrative		174			251
		$	250		$	347
	Unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options as of March 31, 2015 was $807,000, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted average period of approximately 2.49 years.
	In accordance with applicable authoritative guidance, the Company is required to establish assumptions and estimates of the weighted-average fair value of stock options granted, as well as use a valuation model to calculate the fair value of stock-based awards. The Company uses the Black-Scholes option-pricing model to determine the fair-value of stock-based awards. All options are amortized over the requisite service periods. Stock-based compensation for stock options granted to non-employees has been determined using the Black-Scholes option pricing model. These options are revalued at each reporting period until fully vested, with any change in fair value recognized in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
	The fair value of options granted is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014:
		Three Months Ended			Three Months Ended
		March 31,			March 31,
		2015			2014
	Significant assumptions (weighted average):
	Risk-free interest rate at grant date		1.75	%	N/A
	Expected stock price volatility		93.54	%	N/A
	Expected dividend payout		0	%	N/A
	Expected option life based on management's estimate	6.08 yrs			N/A
	Transactions involving stock options issued to employees, directors and consultants under the 2006 Plan, the 2010 Plan and outside the plans are summarized below. Options issued have a maximum life of 10 years. The following tables summarize the changes in options outstanding and the related exercise prices for the Company’s common stock options issued:
		Number of						Weighted
		Options Issued			Weighted			Average		Aggregate
		Under			Average Exercise			Remaining		Intrinsic
		2006 Plan and			Price Per			Contractual		Value
		2010 Plan			Share			Term		(in thousands)
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013		16,028,400		$	1.12
	Granted		6,324,000		$	0.14
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		(1,032,763	)	$	0.53
	Outstanding at December 31, 2014		21,319,637		$	0.86
	Granted		1,524,000		$	0.06
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		(26,177	)	$	0.17
	Outstanding at March 31, 2015		22,817,460		$	0.8		6.54 years		$	—
	Vested and expected to vest at March 31, 2015		21,567,560		$	0.84		6.38 years		$	—
	Exercisable at March 31, 2015		13,984,014		$	1.22		4.88 years		$	—
								Weighted
		Number of			Weighted			Average		Aggregate
		Options Issued			Average Exercise			Remaining		Intrinsic
		Outside			Price Per			Contractual		Value
		the Plan			Share			Term		(in thousands)
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013		7,609,293		$	0.62
	Granted		—		$	—
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		—			—
	Outstanding at December 31, 2014		7,609,293		$	0.62
	Granted		—		$	—
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		—		$	—
	Outstanding, vested and exercisable at March 31, 2015		7,609,293		$	0.62		4.61 years		$	—
	Restricted Stock Awards
	Restricted stock awards are grants that entitle the holder to acquire shares of common stock at zero or a fixed price, which is typically nominal. The Company accounts for the restricted stock awards as issued and outstanding common stock, even though the shares covered by a restricted stock award cannot be sold, pledged, or otherwise disposed of until the award vests and any unvested shares may be reacquired by the Company for the original purchase price following the awardee’s termination of service. Annual grants of restricted stock awards are made to the non-employee members of the board of directors on the date of the annual meeting of stockholders and typically vest in full at the next annual meeting of stockholders following the grant date. Beginning in 2013, additional annual grants of restricted stock awards were made to the non-employee members of the board of directors as partial compensation for their services. These awards vest quarterly at the end of each quarter. In addition, the Company has made restricted stock awards to non-employee consultants for their services, which generally vest in one year or less.
	The following table summarizes the changes in restricted stock award activity and the related weighted average exercise prices for the Company’s awards issued:
		Restricted
		Stock Issued
		from the			Weighted
		2006 Plan and			Average Grant Date
		2010 Plan			Fair Value
Unvested at December 31, 2013		145,000		$	0.23
Granted		1,096,333		$	0.17
Vested		(1,096,333	)	$	0.18
Forfeited		—		$	—
Unvested at December 31, 2014		145,000		$	0.16
Granted		399,838		$	0.06
Vested		(299,838	)	$	0.06
Forfeited		—		$	—
Unvested at March 31, 2015		245,000		$	0.12
The fair value of the restricted stock awards is based on the market value of the common stock on the date of grant. The total grant-date fair value of restricted stock awards vested during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was approximately $17,000 and $29,000, respectively. The Company recognized approximately $25,000 and $39,000 of stock-based compensation expense related to the restricted stock awards for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. As of March 31, 2015, total unrecognized compensation costs related to unvested awards was approximately $7,000, which is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of approximately 0.21 years.
Warrants
Warrants Issued with Preferred Stock
Warrants issued in connection with the October 2014 Financing
The Company has accounted for the warrants in accordance with current accounting guidance, which defines how freestanding contracts that are indexed to and potentially settled in a Company’s own stock should be measured and classified. The authoritative accounting guidance prescribes that only warrants issued under contracts that cannot be net-cash settled and are both indexed to and settled in the Company’s common stock can be classified as equity. As the Series A, Series B and Series C Warrants and Placement Agent Warrant agreements did not meet the specific conditions for equity classification, the Company was required to classify the fair value of the warrants issued as a liability, with subsequent changes in fair value to be recorded as income (loss) in the statement of operations upon revaluation of the fair value of warrant liability at each reporting period. Valuation of the Warrants was estimated at issuance, at December 31, 2014 and March 31, 2015 using the Monte-Carlo simulation model.
The following assumptions were used as inputs to the model at March 31, 2015: for Series A Warrants and the Placement Agent Warrants, stock price of $0.0576 and warrant exercise price of $0.0448 as of the valuation date; the Company’s historical stock price volatility of 80%; risk free interest rate on U.S. treasury notes of 1.37%; warrant expiration of 5.04 years; and a zero dividend rate, for Series B Warrants, stock price of $0.0576 and warrant exercise price of $0.0448 as of the valuation date; the Company’s historical stock price volatility of 65.1%; risk free interest rate on U.S. treasury notes of 0.02%; warrant expiration of 0.04 years; and a zero dividend rate, for Series C Warrants,  stock price of $0.0576 and warrant exercise price of $0.0448 as of the valuation date; the Company’s historical stock price volatility of 65.1%; risk free interest rate on U.S. treasury notes of 0.14%; warrant expiration of 0.54 years; and a zero dividend rate,; simulated as a daily interval and anti-dilution impact if the Company had to raise capital below $0.0448 per share.
The fair value of the warrant liability at the issuance date exceeded the gross proceeds received for the Series H Preferred shares, Series A, Series B and Series C Warrants by $1,779,000. The Series A Warrants, Series B Warrants, Series C Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants had fair values of $2,299,000, $841,000, $1,139,000 and $552,000 at issuance, respectively. The classification and valuation of the warrants resulted in total warrant liabilities of $4,831,000 and $3,355,000 as of the issuance date of October 14, 2014 and the revaluation date of March 31, 2015, respectively. During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company recorded a net change in fair value of warrant liability gain of $679,000 in the condensed consolidated statements of operations.
Series B Warrant Exercises - During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company received net proceeds of $339,506 upon the exercise of 5,894,214 of the Series B Warrants by, Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company received net proceeds of $83,388 upon the exercise of 1,861,331 of the Series B Warrants by, Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer and director.
Series C Warrant Exercises - During the three months ended March 31, 2015, the Company received net proceeds of $347,448 upon the exercise of 7,755,545 of the Series C Warrants by, Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer and director, respectively.
Series A, B, C and Placement Agent Warrants Price Adjustment - The Warrants are immediately exercisable and the exercise price of the Warrants is subject to certain reset adjustments as set forth in the forms of Warrant, including the date of the amendment to the Company’s certificate of incorporation with respect to the reverse stock split, the effectiveness dates of the registration statements and the six and twelve month anniversaries of the date of issuance of the Warrants. The Company’s registration statement on Form S-1 filed on November 3, 2014 with the SEC became effective after amendment on November 25, 2014.  Pursuant to the terms of the Securities Purchase Agreement, the conversion price of the Series H Preferred Stock and the exercise price of the Series A, B, C and Placement Agent Warrants was reset at $0.0448 per share.
Warrants Issued with Common Stock
2013 Securities Purchase Agreements for Common Stock
In conjunction with the Company’s sale of 10,125,000 shares of common stock on January 22, 2013, the Company issued warrants convertible into 5,062,500 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.20 per share. The warrants have a five-year term. These warrants are held by Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Simon Craw, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and the Company’s Executive Vice President Business Development, respectively.
On March 12, 2013 the Company issued warrants convertible into 2,500,000 shares of common stock in conjunction with the sale of 5,000,000 shares of common stock. These warrants have a five-year term and an exercise price of $0.20 per share. Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer is the holder of 250,000 of these warrants.
2013 S-1 July Registered Offering
On July 24, 2013 the Company sold 20,000,000 Units, with each Unit consisting of one share of common stock and one Series A Warrant. The Series A Warrants were convertible into 20,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.15 per share. The warrants have a five year term and were immediately exercisable. In addition, the Company issued 20,000,000 Series B Warrants each to purchase one Unit. The Series B Warrants were immediately exercisable at an initial exercise price of $0.15 per Unit, subject to adjustment and expired on October 24, 2013. The Units issuable upon exercise of the Series B Warrants consisted of 20,000,000 shares of common stock and 20,000,000 Series A Warrants, which were convertible into an additional 20,000,000 shares of common stock at an exercise price of $0.15 per share. All Series A Warrants had an expiration date of the fifth anniversary of the transaction close, July 24, 2018, regardless of the date the Series A Warrants were issued. See the 2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements - discussed below.
On July 19, 2013, the Company also entered into a placement agent agreement (the “Placement Agent Agreement”) with Roth Capital Partners, LLC (the “Placement Agent”), pursuant to which the Placement Agent agreed to act on a reasonable best efforts basis for the Offering. The Company paid the Placement Agent a cash fee equal to 5% of the gross proceeds from the Offering and reimbursed the Placement Agent for its reasonable out-of-pocket expenses of $75,000. The Company also issued 666,666 Placement Agent Warrants to purchase Units equal to 5% of the aggregate number of Units issued in the Offering (other than the Units issued to Andrey Semechkin and Ruslan Semechkin). The Placement Agent Warrants had substantially the same terms as the Series B Warrants, except that the Placement Agent Warrants (i) had an exercise price of $0.15 per Unit, subject to adjustments similar to those applicable to the Series A Warrants, (ii) had a term of five years, (iii) provided for a cashless exercise, and (iv) otherwise comply with the requirements of the Financial Institutions Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA). The Company also agreed to pay the Placement Agent a cash solicitation fee equal to 5% of the gross proceeds received by the Company upon the exercise of the Series B Warrants under certain circumstances. See the 2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements - discussed below.
Series A and B Warrant Exercises - There were no warrant exercises during the year ended December 31, 2014.
2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements – On June 11, 2014, the Company entered into a series of warrant exchange agreements (the “Warrant Exchange Agreements”) with the holders of its Series A Warrants and Placement Agent Warrants that were issued by the Company pursuant to the 2013 S-1 July Registered Offering. Under the Warrant Exchange Agreements, the Company agreed to issue a total of 44,665,783 shares of common stock (the “Exchange Shares”) to the warrant holders in exchange for the cancellation of the Series A Warrants to purchase 36,554,822 shares of common stock and the Placement Agent Warrants to purchase 666,666 shares of common stock and Series A Warrants. Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and Chief Scientific Officer and director, respectively, participated on the same terms as the other warrant holders, agreeing to exchange Series A Warrants to purchase 10,088,154 shares of common stock for 12,105,784 shares of common stock. The closing of the transaction occurred on June 16, 2014 with the issuance of the Exchange Shares.
Immediately prior to the Warrant Exchange transaction, the Company recorded a net change in fair value of warrant liability gain of $1,271,000. As a result of the Warrant Exchange, the Company recognized a $3,445,000 loss for the warrant exchange inducement expense. In addition, the Company recorded a reclassification of $3,031,000 to additional paid in capital from warrant liability for a total increase to additional paid in capital of $6,428,000, which represents the fair value of the stock issued in the Warrant Exchange.
As part of the Warrant Exchange Agreement, the Company agreed that through September 14, 2014 it would not offer, sell, pledge, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of any equity securities or securities convertible, exercisable or exchangeable into equity securities of the Company, except for the issuance of equity awards pursuant to the Company’s employee benefit plans and employee incentive plans, the issuance of common stock pursuant to the valid exercise of options or warrants or upon exercise of conversion rights with respect to convertible securities outstanding on the date of the Warrant Exchange, and the issuance and sale of equity securities in private placements to directors or officers of the Company.
As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, there were 0 Series A Warrants and 0 and Placement Agent Warrants outstanding.
Warrants Issued in Connection with SkinCare Marketing Agreement
In September 2011, the Company signed a Marketing Agreement (“agreement”) with an effective date of June 30, 2011, with a third party marketing organization. According to the terms of the agreement as described in Note 10 below, Commitments and Contingencies, under Marketing Arrangement and Agreement, the third party marketing organization would provide assistance to LSC to sell its skin care products through various specific proprietary mailings. The agreement provides for two tranches of common stock warrants issued by the Company for the benefit of the third party marketing organization for 100,000 shares each, with strike prices of $1.50 and $2.00, respectively, vesting over four quarters, and a warrant term of five years. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, there were 200,000 warrants outstanding. These warrants expire in September 2016.
Share data related to warrant transactions through March 31, 2015 were as follows:
	Common Stock			Units			Common Stock												Common Stock									Price per Warrant
	July 2013 Financing						October 2014 Financing																									Weighted
				Placement													Placement		Skin Care		Jan-13		Mar-13		Total							Average
	Series A			Agent			Series A				Series B			Series C			Agent		Marketing		Financing		Financing		Warrants			Range				Exercise Price
Outstanding,		36,554,822			666,666			—				—			—			—		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		44,983,988		$	0.15-2.00		$	0.17
December 31, 2013
2014
Issued								38,777,726				38,777,726			38,777,726			9,306,654								125,639,832		$		0.06	$		0.06
Exchanged		(36,554,822	)		(666,666	)																				(37,221,488	)	$	0.15		$	0.15
Exercised												(5,894,214	)													(5,894,214	)	$		0.06	$		0.06
Forfeited/Cancelled																										—				—			—
Outstanding,		—			—			38,777,726				32,883,512			38,777,726			9,306,654		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		127,508,118		$	0.06-2.00		$	0.07
December 31, 2014
2014
Issued																										—		$		—	$		—
Exchanged																										—		$		—	$		—
Exercised												(1,861,331	)		(7,755,545	)										(9,616,876	)	$	0.04-0.06		$		0.04
Forfeited/Cancelled																										—				—			—
Outstanding,		—			—			38,777,726				31,022,181			31,022,181			9,306,654		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		117,891,242		$	0.04-2.00		$	0.06
March 31, 2015

Commitments_and_Contingencies

Commitments and Contingencies	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Commitments and Contingencies	10. Commitments and Contingencies
	Leases
	The Company has established its primary research facility in 8,215 square feet of leased office and laboratory space in Oceanside, California. The lease for this facility expires in August 2016. The current base rent is $8,846 per month. The facility has leasehold improvements which include cGMP (current Good Manufacturing Practices) level clean rooms designed for the derivation of clinical-grade stem cells and their differentiated derivatives, research laboratories for the Company’s stem cell differentiation studies and segregated rooms for biohazard control and containment of human donor tissue. The monthly base rent will increase by 3% annually on the anniversary date of the agreement.
	The Company leases a 5,520 square foot manufacturing facility in Frederick, Maryland, which is used for laboratory and administrative purposes. The current base rent is $8,865. The initial term of the lease expires in December 2015 and there is an option for an additional five years. The laboratory is being used to develop and manufacture the Company’s research products and the administration facility is used for sales and marketing and general administrative purposes. The manufacturing laboratory space has clean rooms and is fitted with the necessary water purification, refrigeration, labeling equipment and standard manufacturing equipment to manufacture, package, store, and distribute media products.
	On February 25, 2011, the Company entered into a lease agreement (the “Lease Agreement”) with S Real Estate Holdings LLC to allow the Company to expand into new corporate offices located at 5950 Priestly Drive, Carlsbad, California. The building is used for administrative purposes, but could also be used for research and development purposes if such space is needed in the future. The lease initially covered approximately 4,653 square feet, starting on March 1, 2011, and was amended to cover approximately 8,199 square feet effective July 1, 2011, and to cover approximately 9,848 square feet effective January 1, 2013. The lease expires on February 29, 2016, subject to the Company’s right to extend the term for up to five additional years. The Company began paying rent at an initial rate of $5,118 per month and the rate was amended effective July 1, 2011 and January 1, 2013 to account for additional square footage occupied by the Company. The current base rent is $12,192 per month. The monthly base rent will increase by 3% annually on the anniversary date of the agreement. The Company is also obligated to pay a portion of the utilities for the building and increases in property tax and insurance.
	S Real Estate Holdings LLC is owned by Dr. Ruslan Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Scientific Officer and a director, and was previously owned by Dr. Andrey Semechkin, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors. The Lease Agreement was negotiated at arm’s length and was reviewed by the Company’s outside legal counsel. The terms of the lease were reviewed by a committee of independent directors, and the Company believes that, in total, those terms are consistent with the terms that could be obtained for comparable facilities from an unaffiliated party.
	The Company incurred rent expense of $73,000 and $79,000 for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
	Future minimum lease payments required under operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of March 31, 2015, are as follows (in thousands):
		Amount
	2015 (remaining nine months)	$	277
	2016		104
	2017		5
	Total	$	386
	Marketing Agreement
	In September 2011, the Company signed a Marketing Agreement (“agreement”) with an effective date of June 30, 2011, superseding the terms of a previous arrangement with a third party marketing organization. According to the agreement, the third party marketing organization will continue to provide assistance to Lifeline Skin Care, Inc., (“LSC”) a wholly-owned subsidiary of International Stem Cell, to sell skin care products through various specific proprietary mailings. In exchange for such services, the Company will pay 20% of net revenues for Direct Sales (as defined in the agreement) generated from the proprietary mailings. In addition, the Company agreed to pay 10% of net revenues for Referral Sales. The agreement specifies that the parties do not intend to create a joint venture, and that either party may terminate the agreement upon 30-day written notice. In addition, the agreement provided for two tranches of common stock warrants issued by the Company for the benefit of the third party marketing organization for 100,000 shares each, with strike prices of $1.50 and $2.00, respectively, with vesting over four quarters, and warrant term of five years. Subsequently in July 2012, the Company renegotiated the commission structure to reflect slightly lower rates, 18% on net revenues derived from direct sales and 9% on net revenues derived from referral sales. LSC incurred $5,000 and $13,000 as commission expenses during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively, under the terms of this agreement.
	Customer Concentration
	During the three months ended March 31, 2015 for the Biomedical market segment, one customer accounted for 14% of consolidated revenues. During the three months ended March 31, 2014 for the Biomedical market segment, one customer accounted for 20% of our consolidated revenues. No other single customer accounted for more than 10% of revenues for any period presented.

Segments_and_Geographic_Inform

Segments and Geographic Information	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Segments and Geographic Information	11. Segments and Geographic Information
	The Company’s chief operating decision-maker reviews financial information presented on a consolidated basis, accompanied by disaggregated information by each reportable company’s statement of operations. The Company operates the business on the basis of three reporting segments, the parent company and two wholly-owned subsidiaries:
	International Stem Cell Corporation, a research and development company, for the Therapeutic Market for clinical applications of hpSCs for the treatment of various diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, liver diseases and corneal blindness;
	Lifeline Skin Care, Inc. for the Cosmeceutical Market, which develops, manufactures and markets a category of cosmetic skin care products based on biotechnology with human stem cells;
	Lifeline Cell Technology, LLC for the Biomedical Market, which develops, manufactures and commercializes primary human cell research products including over 130 human cell culture products, including frozen human “primary” cells and the reagents (called “media”) needed to grow, maintain and differentiate the cells.
	Revenues, Expenses and Operating Income (loss)
	The Company does not measure the performance of its segments on any asset-based metrics. Therefore, segment information is presented only for operating income (loss). Revenues, expenses and operating income (loss) by market segment were as follows (in thousands):
		For the Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
	Revenues:
	Cosmeceutical market	$	841		$	803
	Biomedical market		781			846
	Total revenues		1,622			1,649
	Operating expenses:
	Therapeutic market		2,236			2,220
	Cosmeceutical market		712			788
	Biomedical market		640			706
	Total operating expenses		3,588			3,714
	Operating income (loss):
	Therapeutic market		(2,236	)		(2,220	)
	Cosmeceutical market		129			15
	Biomedical market		141			140
	Total operating loss	$	(1,966	)	$	(2,065	)
	Geographic Information
	The Company’s wholly-owned subsidiaries are located in Maryland and California, and have customer and vendor relationships worldwide. Significant revenues in the following regions are those that are attributable to the individual countries within the region to which the product was shipped (in thousands):
		For the Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
	North America	$	1,300		$	1,349
	Asia		213			178
	Europe		90			109
	All other regions		19			13
	Total	$	1,622		$	1,649

Subsequent_Event

Subsequent Event	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
Subsequent Event	12. Subsequent Event
	On April 14, 2015, the Company and the holders of the Series B Warrants issued in the October 2014 private placement, that remained outstanding as of that date, amended those remaining Series B Warrants to (i) extend the termination date to June 20, 2015; (ii) set the exercise price at $0.075 per share; (iii) remove certain price reset adjustment provisions to the exercise price and (iv) remove certain provisions related to cashless exercise, participation rights and anti-dilution effects of a subsequent financing.

Organization_and_Significant_A1

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies (Policies)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Business Combination and Corporate Restructure	Business Combination and Corporate Restructure
	BTHC III, Inc. (“BTHC III” or the “Company”) was organized in Delaware in June 2005 as a shell company to effect the reincorporation of BTHC III, LLC, a Texas limited liability company. On December 28, 2006, the Company effected a Share Exchange pursuant to which it acquired all of the stock of International Stem Cell Corporation, a California corporation (“ISC California”). After giving effect to the Share Exchange, the stockholders of ISC California owned 93.7% of issued and outstanding shares of common stock. As a result of the Share Exchange, ISC California is now the wholly-owned subsidiary, though for accounting purposes it was deemed to have been the acquirer in a “reverse merger.” In the reverse merger, BTHC III is considered the legal acquirer and ISC California is considered the accounting acquirer. On January 29, 2007, the Company changed its name from BTHC III, Inc. to International Stem Cell Corporation.
	Lifeline Cell Technology, LLC (“LCT”) was formed in the State of California on August 17, 2001. LCT is in the business of developing and manufacturing purified primary human cells and optimized reagents for cell culture. LCT’s scientists have used a technology, called basal medium optimization, to systematically produce products designed to culture specific human cell types and to elicit specific cellular behaviors. These techniques also produce products that do not contain non-human animal proteins, a feature desirable to the research and therapeutic markets. LCT distinguishes itself in the industry by having in place scientific and manufacturing staff with the experience and knowledge to set up systems and facilities to produce a source of consistent, standardized, non-human animal protein free cell products, some of which are suitable for FDA approval.
	On July 1, 2006, LCT entered into an agreement among LCT, ISC California and the holders of membership units and warrants. Pursuant to the terms of the agreement, all the membership units in LCT were exchanged for 20,000,000 shares of ISC California Common Stock and for ISC California’s assumption of LCT’s obligations under the warrants. LCT became a wholly-owned subsidiary of ISC California.
	Lifeline Skin Care, Inc. (“LSC”) was formed in the State of California on June 5, 2009 and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of ISC California. LSC develops, manufactures and markets cosmeceutical products, utilizing an extract derived from the Company’s human parthenogenetic stem cell technologies.
	Cyto Therapeutics was registered in the state of Victoria, Australia, on December 19, 2014 and is a limited proprietary company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company. Cyto Therapeutics is a research and development company for the Therapeutic Market, which conducts clinical trials in Australia for the use of hpSCs in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Going Concern	Going Concern
	The Company needs to raise additional working capital. The timing and degree of any future capital requirements will depend on many factors. Currently, the Company’s burn rate is approximately $255,000 per month, excluding capital expenditures and patent costs averaging $56,000 per month. There can be no assurance that the Company will be successful in maintaining its normal operating cash flow, and that such cash flows will be sufficient to sustain the Company’s operations through 2015. Based on the above, there is substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The condensed consolidated financial statements were prepared assuming that the Company will continue as a going concern. The condensed consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments to reflect the possible future effects on the recoverability and classification of assets or the amounts and classification of liabilities that may result from the outcome of this uncertainty.
	Management’s plans in regard to these matters are focused on managing its cash flow, the proper timing of its capital expenditures, and raising additional capital or financing in the future. In December 2013, the Company filed a registration statement with the Securities Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which allowed the Company to sell up to $10,250,000 of common stock to Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC (“Lincoln Park”) from time to time through January 2017 at the Company’s discretion pursuant to the terms of a Common Stock Purchase Agreement entered into with Lincoln Park on December 10, 2013 (the “Purchase Agreement”). In connection with agreements entered into as part of a private placement effected on October 14, 2014 (the “October 2014 private placement”), the Company may not sell shares to Lincoln Park until March 2016.  Additionally, pursuant to the terms of the October 2014 private placement, the Company was unable to issue securities, subject to certain exceptions, until May 7, 2015.  For further discussion, see Note 6.
Basis of Presentation	Basis of Presentation
	The Company is a biotechnology company focused on therapeutic and clinical product development with multiple long-term therapeutic opportunities and two revenue-generating subsidiaries with potential for increased future revenues.
	The accompanying unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements included herein have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q.
	These financial statements do not include all information and notes required by generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. However, except as disclosed herein, there has been no material change in the information disclosed in the notes to consolidated financial statements included in the annual report on Form 10-K of International Stem Cell Corporation and Subsidiaries for the year ended December 31, 2014.
	The unaudited condensed consolidated financial information for the interim periods presented reflects all adjustments, consisting of only normal and recurring adjustments, necessary for a fair presentation of the Company’s consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. The unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes should be read in conjunction with the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2014 included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K. Operating results for interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for any other interim period or an entire year.
Principles of Consolidation	Principles of Consolidation
	The Company’s consolidated financial statements include the accounts of International Stem Cell Corporation and its subsidiaries after intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated.
Cash Equivalents	Cash Equivalents
	The Company considers all highly liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less when purchased to be cash equivalents.
Restricted Cash	Restricted Cash
	The Company is required to maintain $50,000 in a restricted certificate of deposit account in order to fully collateralize two revolving credit card accounts.
Inventories	Inventories
	Inventories are accounted for using the first-in, first-out (FIFO) method for our Lifeline Cell Technology (“LCT”) cell culture media and reagents, average cost and specific identification methods for our Lifeline Skin Care (“LSC”) products, and specific identification method for our Lifeline Cell Technology products.  We state our inventory balances at the lower of cost or market. Lab supplies used in the research and development process are expensed as consumed. Inventory is reviewed periodically for product expiration and obsolescence and is adjusted accordingly.
Accounts Receivable	Accounts Receivable
	Trade accounts receivable are recorded at the net invoice value and are not interest bearing. Accounts receivable primarily consist of trade accounts receivable from the sales of LCT’s products, timing of cash receipts by the Company related to LSC credit card sales to customers, as well as LSC trade receivable amounts related to spa and distributor sales. The Company considers receivables past due based on the contractual payment terms. The Company reviews its exposure to accounts receivable and reserves specific amounts if collectability is no longer reasonably assured. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had an allowance for doubtful accounts totaling $19,000.
Property and Equipment	Property and Equipment
	Property and equipment are stated at cost. The provision for depreciation and amortization is computed using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets, generally over five years. The costs of major remodeling and leasehold improvements are capitalized and amortized over the shorter of the remaining term of the lease or the life of the asset.
Intangible Assets	Intangible Assets
	Intangible assets consist of acquired research and development rights used in research and development, and capitalized legal fees related to the acquisition, filing, maintenance, and defense of patents. Patent or patent license amortization only begins once a patent license is acquired or a patent is issued by the appropriate authoritative bodies. In the period in which a patent application is rejected or efforts to pursue the patent are abandoned, all the related accumulated costs are expensed. Patents and patent licenses are recorded at cost of $3,467,000 and $3,367,000 at March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, respectively, and are amortized on a straight-line basis over the shorter of the lives of the underlying patents or the useful life of the license.
Long-Lived Asset Impairment	Long-Lived Asset Impairment
	The Company reviews long-lived assets for impairment when events or changes in business conditions indicate that their carrying value may not be recovered, and at least annually. The Company considers assets to be impaired and writes them down to fair value if expected associated undiscounted cash flows are less than the carrying amounts. Fair value is the present value of the associated cash flows. The Company recognized $52,000 and $36,000 of impairments on its long-lived assets during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
Product Sales	Product Sales
	The Company recognizes revenue from product sales at the time of shipment to the customer, provided no significant obligations remain and collection of the receivable is reasonably assured. If the customer has a right of return, the Company recognizes product revenues upon shipment, provided that future returns can be reasonably estimated. In the case where returns cannot be reasonably estimated, revenue will be deferred until such estimates can be made or the right of return has lapsed. LCT contributed 48% and 51% of total revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively. LSC contributed 52% and 49% of total revenue during the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
Deferred Revenue and Allowance for Sales Returns	Deferred Revenue and Allowance for Sales Returns
	The Company recognizes revenue from product sales when persuasive evidence of an arrangement exists, delivery has occurred or services have been rendered, the price to the buyer is fixed or determinable, and collectability is reasonably assured. However, the LSC products have a 30-day product return guarantee for website sales. The Company has estimated the historical rate of returns for the 30-day product return guarantee, which has remained consistent for the three months ended March 31, 2015 as compared to the years ended December 31, 2014 and 2013. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the estimated allowance for sales returns was $10,000. At March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, net deferred revenue totaled $0.
Cost of Sales	Cost of Sales
	Cost of sales consists primarily of salaries and benefits associated with employee efforts expended directly on the production of the Company’s products and include related direct materials, general laboratory supplies and allocation of overhead. Certain of the agreements under which the Company has licensed technology will require the payment of royalties based on the sale of its future products. Such royalties will be recorded as a component of cost of sales. Additionally, the amortization of license fees or milestone payments related to developed technologies used in the Company’s products will be classified as a component of cost of sales to the extent such payments become due in the future.
Research and Development Costs	Research and Development Costs
	Research and development costs, which are expensed as incurred, are primarily comprised of costs and expenses for salaries and benefits associated with research and development personnel, overhead and occupancy, contract services, and amortization of license costs for technology used in research and development with alternative future uses.
Stock-Based Compensation	Stock-Based Compensation
	The Company recognized stock-based compensation expense associated with stock options and other stock-based awards in accordance with the authoritative guidance for stock-based compensation. The cost of a stock-based award is measured at the grant date based on the estimated fair value of the award, and is recognized as expense on a straight-line basis, net of estimated forfeitures over the requisite service period of the award. The fair value of stock options is estimated using the Black-Scholes option valuation model, which requires the input of subjective assumptions, including price volatility of the underlying stock, risk-free interest rate, dividend yield, and expected life of the option. The fair value of restricted stock awards is based on the market value of our common stock on the date of grant.
Fair Value Measurements	Fair Value Measurements
	Fair value is defined as the exchange price that would be received for an asset or paid to transfer a liability (an exit price) in the principal or most advantageous market for the asset or liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Assets and liabilities that are measured at fair value are reported using a three-level fair value hierarchy that prioritizes the inputs used to measure fair value. This hierarchy maximizes the use of observable inputs and minimizes the use of unobservable inputs. The three levels of inputs used to measure fair value are as follows:
	Level 1	Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets or liabilities;
	Level 2	Quoted prices in markets that are not active, or inputs that are observable, either directly or indirectly, for substantially the full term of the asset or liability; and
	Level 3	Prices or valuation techniques that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity).
	Assets and liabilities are classified in their entirety based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the fair value measurement. The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2015 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	3,355		$	—	$	—	$	3,355
	The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2014 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	4,216		$	—	$	—	$	4,216
	The following table displays the rollforward activity of liabilities with inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity) (in thousands):
		Warrants to purchase
		common stock
	Beginning balance at December 31, 2013	$	4,925
	Issuances of warrants		4,831
	Exercise of warrants		(104	)
	Adjustments to estimated fair value		(2,405	)
	Warrants exchanged for common stock		(3,031	)
	Ending balance at December 31, 2014		4,216
	Exercise of warrants		(182	)
	Adjustments to estimated fair value		(679	)
	Ending balance at March 31, 2015	$	3,355
Income Taxes	Income Taxes
	The Company accounts for income taxes in accordance with applicable authoritative guidance, which requires the Company to provide a net deferred tax asset/liability equal to the expected future tax benefit/expense of temporary reporting differences between book and tax accounting methods and any available operating loss or tax credit carryforwards.
Use of Estimates	Use of Estimates
	The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported in the unaudited condensed consolidated financial statements. Significant estimates include patent life (remaining legal life versus remaining useful life), inventory carrying values, allowance for sales returns and bad debt, and transactions using the Black-Scholes option pricing model, e.g., warrants and stock options, as well as the Monte-Carlo valuation method for certain warrants. Actual results could differ from those estimates.
Fair Value of Financial Instruments	Fair Value of Financial Instruments
	The Company believes that the carrying value of its cash and cash equivalents, receivables, accounts payable and accrued liabilities as of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014 approximate their fair values because of the short-term nature of those instruments. The fair value of certain warrants was determined at each quarterly reporting date as necessary using the Monte-Carlo valuation methodology.
Income (Loss) Per Common Share	Income (Loss) Per Common Share
	The computation of net loss per common share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during each period. The computation of diluted earnings per common share is based on the weighted average number of shares outstanding during the period plus the common stock equivalents, which would arise from the exercise of stock options and warrants outstanding using the treasury stock method and the average market price per share during the period. At March 31, 2015, there were 245,000 non-vested restricted stock awards, 21,593,307 vested and 8,833,446 non-vested stock options outstanding, and 117,891,242 warrants outstanding; and at March 31, 2014, there were 552,625 non-vested restricted stock awards, 45,650,654 shares issuable upon exercise of warrants, and 19,431,138 vested and 3,848,655 non-vested stock options outstanding. These restricted stock awards, stock options and warrants, other than certain in-the-money warrants at March 31, 2015, were not included in the diluted loss per share calculation because the effect would have been anti-dilutive. Warrants exercisable into 110,128,742 common shares were considered dilutive at March 31, 2015, however, their inclusion into the loss per share calculation did not yield a materially different result.
Comprehensive Income	Comprehensive Income
	Comprehensive income or loss includes all changes in equity except those resulting from investments by owners and distributions to owners. The Company did not have any items of comprehensive income or loss other than net loss from operations for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014.
Registration Payment Arrangements	Registration Payment Arrangements
	In accordance with applicable authoritative guidance, the Company is required to separately recognize and measure registration payment arrangements, whether issued as a separate agreement or included as a provision of a financial instrument or other agreement. Such payments include penalties for failure to effect a registration of securities.
Recent Accounting Pronouncements	Recent Accounting Pronouncements
	In May 2014, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (the “FASB”) issued Accounting Standard Update (“ASU”) No. 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers, which requires an entity to recognize the amount of revenue to which it expects to be entitled for the transfer of promised goods or services to customers.  The ASU will replace most existing revenue recognition guidance in U.S. GAAP when it becomes effective.  In 2015, FASB has tentatively deferred ASU No. 2014-09 for one year, and with that deferral, ASU No. 2014-09 will be effective for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period, which for us will be our 2018 fiscal quarter.  The standard permits the use of either retrospective or cumulative effect transition method. The Company is evaluating the effect that ASU 2014-09 will have on its consolidated financial statements and related disclosures.  The Company has not yet selected a transition method nor has it determined the effect of the standard on its ongoing financial reporting.

Organization_and_Significant_A2

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities	The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of March 31, 2015 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	3,355		$	—	$	—	$	3,355
	The table below sets forth a summary of the fair values of the Company’s assets and liabilities as of December 31, 2014 (in thousands):
		Total			Level 1		Level 2		Level 3
	ASSETS:
	Cash equivalents	$	5		$	5	$	—	$	—
	LIABILITIES:
	Warrants to purchase common stock	$	4,216		$	—	$	—	$	4,216
Fair Value Measurement and Unobservable Rollforward Activity of Liabilities	The following table displays the rollforward activity of liabilities with inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable (supported by little or no market activity) (in thousands):
		Warrants to purchase
		common stock
	Beginning balance at December 31, 2013	$	4,925
	Issuances of warrants		4,831
	Exercise of warrants		(104	)
	Adjustments to estimated fair value		(2,405	)
	Warrants exchanged for common stock		(3,031	)
	Ending balance at December 31, 2014		4,216
	Exercise of warrants		(182	)
	Adjustments to estimated fair value		(679	)
	Ending balance at March 31, 2015	$	3,355

Inventory_Tables

Inventory (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Summary of the Components of Inventories	The components of inventories are as follows (in thousands):
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
	Raw materials	$	202		$	191
	Work in process		619			507
	Finished goods		942			1,012
	Total		1,763			1,710
	Less: allowance for inventory obsolescence		(95	)		(193	)
	Inventory, net	$	1,668		$	1,517

Property_and_Equipment_Tables

Property and Equipment (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]
Summary of Property and Equipment	Property and equipment consists of the following (in thousands):
		March 31,			December 31,
		2015			2014
	Machinery and equipment	$	1,358		$	1,357
	Computer equipment		306			294
	Office equipment		203			203
	Leasehold improvements		756			756
	Construction in progress		2			—
			2,625			2,610
	Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization		(1,995	)		(1,896	)
	Property and equipment, net	$	630		$	714

Patent_Licenses_Tables

Patent Licenses (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
Summary of Future Amortization Expense Related to Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization	At March 31, 2015, future amortization expense related to intangible assets subject to amortization is expected to be as follows (in thousands):
		Amount
	2015 (remaining nine months)	$	59
	2016		78
	2017		78
	2018		78
	2019		45
	Thereafter		2,479
	Total	$	2,817

Advances_Tables

Advances (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Advances [Abstract]
Schedule of Advances from Nonaffiliated Collaboration	As of March 31, 2015, no revenues were realized from this agreement.
		March 31,		December 31,
		2015		2014
	BioTime, Inc. (in thousands)	$	250	$	250

Capital_Stock_Tables

Capital Stock (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Equity [Abstract]
Summary of Shares of Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance	At March 31, 2015, the Company had shares of common stock reserved for future issuance as follows:
	Options outstanding	30,426,753
	Options available for future grant	4,508,319
	Convertible preferred stock	159,069,618
	Warrants	117,891,242
		311,895,932

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Tab

Stock Options and Warrants (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Sharebased Payments [Abstract]
Schedule of Total Stock-Based Compensation Expense	Total stock-based compensation expense for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014 was comprised of the following (in thousands):
		Three Months Ended			Three Months Ended
		March 31,			March 31,
		2015			2014
	Cost of sales	$	7		$	15
	Research and development		60			70
	Selling and marketing		9			11
	General and administrative		174			251
		$	250		$	347
Fair Value of Stock Option Award	The fair value of options granted is estimated at the date of grant using the Black-Scholes option-pricing model with the following weighted average assumptions for the three months ended March 31, 2015 and 2014:
		Three Months Ended			Three Months Ended
		March 31,			March 31,
		2015			2014
	Significant assumptions (weighted average):
	Risk-free interest rate at grant date		1.75	%	N/A
	Expected stock price volatility		93.54	%	N/A
	Expected dividend payout		0	%	N/A
	Expected option life based on management's estimate	6.08 yrs			N/A
Summary of Changes in Options Outstanding and Related Exercise Prices for Shares of Company's Common Stock Options Issued	Transactions involving stock options issued to employees, directors and consultants under the 2006 Plan, the 2010 Plan and outside the plans are summarized below. Options issued have a maximum life of 10 years. The following tables summarize the changes in options outstanding and the related exercise prices for the Company’s common stock options issued:
		Number of						Weighted
		Options Issued			Weighted			Average		Aggregate
		Under			Average Exercise			Remaining		Intrinsic
		2006 Plan and			Price Per			Contractual		Value
		2010 Plan			Share			Term		(in thousands)
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013		16,028,400		$	1.12
	Granted		6,324,000		$	0.14
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		(1,032,763	)	$	0.53
	Outstanding at December 31, 2014		21,319,637		$	0.86
	Granted		1,524,000		$	0.06
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		(26,177	)	$	0.17
	Outstanding at March 31, 2015		22,817,460		$	0.8		6.54 years		$	—
	Vested and expected to vest at March 31, 2015		21,567,560		$	0.84		6.38 years		$	—
	Exercisable at March 31, 2015		13,984,014		$	1.22		4.88 years		$	—
								Weighted
		Number of			Weighted			Average		Aggregate
		Options Issued			Average Exercise			Remaining		Intrinsic
		Outside			Price Per			Contractual		Value
		the Plan			Share			Term		(in thousands)
	Outstanding at December 31, 2013		7,609,293		$	0.62
	Granted		—		$	—
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		—			—
	Outstanding at December 31, 2014		7,609,293		$	0.62
	Granted		—		$	—
	Exercised		—		$	—
	Canceled or expired		—		$	—
	Outstanding, vested and exercisable at March 31, 2015		7,609,293		$	0.62		4.61 years		$	—
Summary of Changes in Restricted Stock Award Activity	The following table summarizes the changes in restricted stock award activity and the related weighted average exercise prices for the Company’s awards issued:
		Restricted
		Stock Issued
		from the			Weighted
		2006 Plan and			Average Grant Date
		2010 Plan			Fair Value
	Unvested at December 31, 2013		145,000		$	0.23
	Granted		1,096,333		$	0.17
	Vested		(1,096,333	)	$	0.18
	Forfeited		—		$	—
	Unvested at December 31, 2014		145,000		$	0.16
	Granted		399,838		$	0.06
	Vested		(299,838	)	$	0.06
	Forfeited		—		$	—
	Unvested at March 31, 2015		245,000		$	0.12
Summary of Outstanding Warrants Related to Warrant Transactions	Share data related to warrant transactions through March 31, 2015 were as follows:
		Common Stock			Units			Common Stock												Common Stock									Price per Warrant
		July 2013 Financing						October 2014 Financing																									Weighted
					Placement													Placement		Skin Care		Jan-13		Mar-13		Total							Average
		Series A			Agent			Series A				Series B			Series C			Agent		Marketing		Financing		Financing		Warrants			Range				Exercise Price
	Outstanding,		36,554,822			666,666			—				—			—			—		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		44,983,988		$	0.15-2.00		$	0.17
	December 31, 2013
	2014
	Issued								38,777,726				38,777,726			38,777,726			9,306,654								125,639,832		$		0.06	$		0.06
	Exchanged		(36,554,822	)		(666,666	)																				(37,221,488	)	$	0.15		$	0.15
	Exercised												(5,894,214	)													(5,894,214	)	$		0.06	$		0.06
	Forfeited/Cancelled																										—				—			—
	Outstanding,		—			—			38,777,726				32,883,512			38,777,726			9,306,654		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		127,508,118		$	0.06-2.00		$	0.07
	December 31, 2014
	2014
	Issued																										—		$		—	$		—
	Exchanged																										—		$		—	$		—
	Exercised												(1,861,331	)		(7,755,545	)										(9,616,876	)	$	0.04-0.06		$		0.04
	Forfeited/Cancelled																										—				—			—
	Outstanding,		—			—			38,777,726				31,022,181			31,022,181			9,306,654		200,000		5,062,500		2,500,000		117,891,242		$	0.04-2.00		$	0.06
	March 31, 2015

Commitments_and_Contingencies_

Commitments and Contingencies (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Commitments And Contingencies Disclosure [Abstract]
Summary of Future Minimum Lease Payments Required under Operating Leases that Have Initial or Remaining Non-Cancelable Lease Terms in Excess of One Year	Future minimum lease payments required under operating leases that have initial or remaining non-cancelable lease terms in excess of one year as of March 31, 2015, are as follows (in thousands):
		Amount
	2015 (remaining nine months)	$	277
	2016		104
	2017		5
	Total	$	386

Segments_and_Geographic_Inform1

Segments and Geographic Information (Tables)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Revenues, Expenses and Operating Income (Loss) by Market Segment	Revenues, expenses and operating income (loss) by market segment were as follows (in thousands):
		For the Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
	Revenues:
	Cosmeceutical market	$	841		$	803
	Biomedical market		781			846
	Total revenues		1,622			1,649
	Operating expenses:
	Therapeutic market		2,236			2,220
	Cosmeceutical market		712			788
	Biomedical market		640			706
	Total operating expenses		3,588			3,714
	Operating income (loss):
	Therapeutic market		(2,236	)		(2,220	)
	Cosmeceutical market		129			15
	Biomedical market		141			140
	Total operating loss	$	(1,966	)	$	(2,065	)
Summary of Significant Revenues in Following Regions	Significant revenues in the following regions are those that are attributable to the individual countries within the region to which the product was shipped (in thousands):
		For the Three Months Ended
		March 31,
		2015			2014
	North America	$	1,300		$	1,349
	Asia		213			178
	Europe		90			109
	All other regions		19			13
	Total	$	1,622		$	1,649

Organization_and_Significant_A3

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
	Jul. 01, 2006	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 11, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
		Subsidiary
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of ownership in issued and outstanding shares of common stock parent Company		93.70%
Common stock in subsidiary Company	20,000,000
Burn rate		$255,000
Capital expenditures and patent costs		56,000
Revenue-generating subsidiaries		2
Original maturities period, maximum		3 months
Restricted cash		50,000		50,000
Allowance for doubtful accounts receivable		19,000		19,000
Estimated useful life of property and equipment		5 years
Patents and patent licenses		3,467,000		3,367,000
Impairment on long-lived assets		52,000	36,000
Period of right of return guarantee				30 days	30 days
Net deferred revenue		0		0
Number of shares issuable upon exercise of warrants			45,650,654
Vested stock options outstanding		21,593,307	19,431,138
Stock options outstanding, non-vested		8,833,446	3,848,655
Warrants outstanding		117,891,242		127,508,118	44,983,988		44,983,988
Number of common shares considered dilutive		110,128,742
Restricted Stock [Member]
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Non-vested restricted stock awards		245,000	552,625
Allowance for Sales Returns [Member]
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Allowance for sales returns		10,000		10,000
Cell Technology [Member]
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of revenue contributed		48.00%	51.00%
Skin Care [Member]
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of revenue contributed		52.00%	49.00%
Warrants outstanding		200,000		200,000	200,000		200,000
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member]
Organization And Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Potential common stock value to be sold						$10,250,000	$10,250,000

Organization_and_Significant_A4

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies - Fair Values of Assets and Liabilities (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
ASSETS:
Cash equivalents	$5	$5
Level 1 [Member]
ASSETS:
Cash equivalents	5	5
Warrants [Member]
LIABILITIES:
Warrants to purchase common stock	3,355	4,216	4,925
Warrants [Member] | Level 3 [Member]
LIABILITIES:
Warrants to purchase common stock	$3,355	$4,216

Organization_and_Significant_A5

Organization and Significant Accounting Policies - Fair Value Measurement and Unobservable Rollforward Activity of Liabilities (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Jun. 16, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Adjustments to estimated fair value	($1,271)	($679)	($623)
Warrants [Member]
Fair Value Disclosures [Abstract]
Beginning balance		4,216	4,925	4,925
Issuances of warrants				4,831
Exercise of warrants		-182		-104
Adjustments to estimated fair value		-679		-2,405
Warrants exchanged for common stock				-3,031
Ending balance		$3,355		$4,216

Inventory_Summary_of_the_Compo

Inventory - Summary of the Components of Inventories (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]
Raw materials	$202	$191
Work in process	619	507
Finished goods	942	1,012
Total	1,763	1,710
Less: allowance for inventory obsolescence	-95	-193
Inventory, net	$1,668	$1,517

Property_and_Equipment_Summary

Property and Equipment - Summary of Property and Equipment (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$2,625	$2,610
Less: accumulated depreciation and amortization	-1,995	-1,896
Property and equipment, net	630	714
Machinery and Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	1,358	1,357
Computer Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	306	294
Office Equipment [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	203	203
Leasehold Improvements [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	756	756
Construction in Progress [Member]
Property Plant And Equipment [Line Items]
Property and equipment, gross	$2

Property_and_Equipment_Additio

Property and Equipment - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Property Plant And Equipment [Abstract]
Depreciation expense	$99	$101

Patent_Licenses_Additional_Inf

Patent Licenses - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	14-May-04	Feb. 13, 2004	Dec. 31, 2003	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Feb. 07, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
								Installment
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Option and license fees	$3,467,000	$3,367,000	$400,000	$22,500	$340,000
Patent acquisition costs	2,720,000					2,720,000
Amortization expense						32,000	15,000
Accumulated amortization	604,000	572,000				604,000
UMass IP [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Obligation to pay royalties (Ranged)								0.25%
Minimum annual license fee						150,000			75,000
Number of installments								2
UMass IP [Member] | Minimum [Member] | Previously Reported [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Obligation to pay royalties (Ranged)								6.00%
UMass IP [Member] | Maximum [Member] | Previously Reported [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Obligation to pay royalties (Ranged)								12.00%
ACT IP [Member]
Finite-Lived Intangible Assets [Line Items]
Patent acquisition costs	$747,000					$747,000

Patent_Licenses_Summary_of_Fut

Patent Licenses - Summary of Future Amortization Expense Related to Intangible Assets Subject to Amortization (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Goodwill And Intangible Assets Disclosure [Abstract]
2015 (remaining nine months)	$59
2016	78
2017	78
2018	78
2019	45
Thereafter	2,479
Total	$2,817

Advances_Additional_Informatio

Advances - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Jun. 18, 2008
Advances [Abstract]
Advances from nonaffiliated collaboration	$250,000	$250,000	$250,000
Specified amount of revenue to be utilized for advances			250,000
Revenue realized from agreement	$0

Advances_Schedule_of_Advances_

Advances - Schedule of Advances from Nonaffiliated Collaboration (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Jun. 18, 2008
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Advances [Abstract]
Advances from nonaffiliated collaboration	$250	$250	$250

Capital_Stock_Additional_Infor

Capital Stock - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Equity [Abstract]
Common stock, shares authorized	720,000,000	720,000,000
Preferred stock, shares authorized	20,000,000
Common stock, par value	$0.00	$0.00
Preferred stock, par value	$0.00

Capital_Stock_Series_B_Preferr

Capital Stock - Series B Preferred Stock Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	12-May-08	Mar. 31, 2015	Jul. 24, 2013	Feb. 28, 2015	Nov. 30, 2014	Oct. 31, 2014	31-May-08	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014
	Investor
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of accredited investors	5
Conversion ratio for each share		505.18%
Warrants exercisable price								$0.20	$0.20
Series B Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of units issued			20,000,000
Number of warrants to purchase common stock	2
Series B Preferred Stock
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of units issued	400,000
Number of Series B Preferred Stock for each Series B unit	1
Common stock purchase price, per share	1
Proceeds from issuance of preferred stock and warrants	400
Initial conversion price	0.5			$0.04	$0.06	$0.06
Warrants exercisable price	0.5		0.15
Number of years from issuance of warrants to convert as common stock	5 years
Convertible preferred stock, conversion price		0.0448
Liquidation premium							6.00%
Preferred stock, shares issued		300,000								300,000
Preferred stock, shares outstanding		300,000								300,000
Series B Preferred Stock | Common Stock [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion ratio for each share	200.00%

Capital_Stock_Series_D_Preferr

Capital Stock - Series D Preferred Stock Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)

0 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified

Sep. 10, 2014

Aug. 06, 2014

Jun. 26, 2014

29-May-14

Mar. 12, 2013

Jan. 22, 2013

Dec. 30, 2008

12-May-08

Feb. 28, 2015

Nov. 30, 2014

Oct. 31, 2014

Mar. 31, 2015

Dec. 31, 2014

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

4,444,445

6,000,000

5,500,000

3,333,333

5,000,000

10,125,000

Series D Preferred Stock

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

43

Total proceeds

$4,700

Preferred stock, price per share

$100,000

Preferred stock, shares issued

43

43

Preferred stock, shares outstanding

43

43

Initial conversion price

$0.25

Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock, shares

400,000

Series D Preferred Stock | X-Master Inc. [Member]

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

10

Series D Preferred Stock | Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [Member]

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

33

Series B Preferred Stock

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Preferred stock, shares issued

300,000

300,000

Preferred stock, shares outstanding

300,000

300,000

Initial conversion price

$0.50

$0.04

$0.06

$0.06

Convertible preferred stock, conversion price

$0.04

Capital_Stock_Series_G_Preferr

Capital Stock - Series G Preferred Stock Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)

0 Months Ended

3 Months Ended

12 Months Ended

0 Months Ended

1 Months Ended

In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified

Sep. 10, 2014

Aug. 06, 2014

Jun. 26, 2014

29-May-14

Mar. 12, 2013

Jan. 22, 2013

Mar. 31, 2015

Dec. 31, 2014

Mar. 09, 2012

Feb. 28, 2015

Nov. 30, 2014

Oct. 31, 2014

Directors

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

4,444,445

6,000,000

5,500,000

3,333,333

5,000,000

10,125,000

Issuance price per share

$0.09

$0.10

$0.20

$0.20

Conversion ratio for each share

505.18%

Legal costs

$169

Series G Preferred Stock

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Convertible preferred stock, conversion price

0.1979

$0.40

Conversion ratio for each share

250.00%

Number of directors to be nominated by preferred shareholders

2

Number of independent directors out of directors to be nominated by preferred shareholders

1

Legal costs

59

Preferred stock, shares issued

5,000,000

5,000,000

Preferred stock, shares outstanding

5,000,000

5,000,000

Initial conversion price

$0.04

$0.06

$0.06

Series G Preferred Stock | Minimum [Member]

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Convertible Redeemable Preferred stock, shares outstanding

1,000,000

Series G Preferred Stock | AR Partners, LLC [Member]

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Number of shares of common stock sold

5,000,000

Issuance price per share

$1

Total proceeds

$5,000

Convertible Redeemable Series G Preferred stock [Member]

Class Of Stock [Line Items]

Convertible Redeemable Preferred stock, shares outstanding

5,000,000

Convertible Redeemable Preferred stock, shares issued

5,000,000

Capital_Stock_Series_H_Preferr

Capital Stock - Series H Preferred Stock Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 10, 2014	Aug. 06, 2014	Jun. 26, 2014	29-May-14	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Oct. 14, 2014	Apr. 14, 2015
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold	4,444,445	6,000,000	5,500,000	3,333,333	5,000,000	10,125,000
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock					2,500,000	5,062,500
Warrants exercisable price					$0.20	$0.20
Warrant term					5 years	5 years
Common stock, shares authorized							720,000,000	720,000,000
From exercises of warrants, amount							$612,000	$444,000
Common Stock [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold								27,598,000
From exercises of warrants, amount							10,000	6,000
Issuance of common stock from conversion of preferred stock, shares							12,671,432	9,000,000
Placement Agent [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price							$0.09
Warrant term							5 years 6 months
Date of placement agency engagement letter							23-Sep-14
Placement agent fee							200,000
From exercises of warrants, amount							9,306,654
Reimbursement of fees and expenses							50,000
Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Series A Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price									$0.04
Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Series B Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price									$0.04
Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Series C warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price									$0.04
Series H Preferred Stock [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Conversion of stock, shares converted							586.88	518.4
Series H Preferred Stock [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Convertible preferred stock, conversion price									$0.04
Purchasers [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common stock, shares authorized							720,000,000
Percentage of common stock resale							100.00%
Purchasers [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Aggregate initial gross proceeds									$2,500,000
Purchasers [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member] | Series A Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock									38,777,726
Warrants exercisable price									$0.09
Warrant term									5 years 6 months
Purchasers [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member] | Series B Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock									38,777,726
Warrants exercisable price									$0.06	$0.08
Warrant term									6 months
Warrants, termination date										20-Jun-15
Purchasers [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member] | Series C warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock									38,777,726
Warrants exercisable price									$0.06
Warrant term									12 months
Purchasers [Member] | Series H Preferred Stock [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Percentage of common stock resale							200.00%
Purchasers [Member] | Series H Preferred Stock [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Preferred stock, par value per share									$0.00
Preferred stock, stated value per share									$1,000
Convertible preferred stock, common stock shares issuable upon conversion									38,777,726
Convertible preferred stock, conversion price									$0.06
Purchasers [Member] | Series H Preferred Stock [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member] | Series H One [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold									2,000
Purchasers [Member] | Series H Preferred Stock [Member] | Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Private Placement [Member] | Series H Two [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold									500

Capital_Stock_2013_Securities_

Capital Stock - 2013 Securities Purchase Agreements for Common Stock - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended						3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 10, 2014	Aug. 06, 2014	Jun. 26, 2014	29-May-14	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold	4,444,445	6,000,000	5,500,000	3,333,333	5,000,000	10,125,000
Common stock value per share	$0.09	$0.10			$0.20	$0.20
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	$400	$600	$550	$500	$1,000	$2,025	$1,104
Warrant term					5 years	5 years
Percentage of Warrants to common stock purchased					50.00%	50.00%
Warrants outstanding convertible into common stock					2,500,000	5,062,500
Warrants exercisable price					$0.20	$0.20
Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Proceeds from issuance of common stock					$100
Warrant term					5 years
Warrants outstanding convertible into common stock					250,000

Capital_Stock_2014_Securities_

Capital Stock - 2014 Securities Purchase Agreements for Common Stock - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended						3 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 10, 2014	Aug. 06, 2014	Jun. 26, 2014	29-May-14	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Mar. 31, 2014
Equity [Abstract]
Number of shares of common stock sold	4,444,445	6,000,000	5,500,000	3,333,333	5,000,000	10,125,000
Common stock value per share			$0.10	$0.15
Proceeds from issuance of common stock	$400	$600	$550	$500	$1,000	$2,025	$1,104
Common stock value per share	$0.09	$0.10			$0.20	$0.20

Capital_Stock_2014_Warrant_Exc

Capital Stock - 2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements - Additional Information (Detail)	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Jun. 11, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Jun. 16, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2013
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock issued for warrant exchange	44,665,783
Warrants, Exchanged	36,554,822	37,221,488
Warrants outstanding		127,508,118		117,891,242	44,983,988
Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged	666,666
Warrants outstanding		0		0
Series A Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged	36,554,822
Warrants outstanding		0		0
Series A Warrants [Member] | Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged	666,666
Series A Warrants [Member] | Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Ruslan Semechkin [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock issued for warrant exchange	12,105,784		12,105,784
Warrants outstanding	10,088,154		10,088,154	0

Capital_Stock_2013_Lincoln_Par

Capital Stock - 2013 Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC Stock Purchase Agreement - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended						3 Months Ended	0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 10, 2014	Aug. 06, 2014	Jun. 26, 2014	29-May-14	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 11, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold	4,444,445	6,000,000	5,500,000	3,333,333	5,000,000	10,125,000
Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Potential number of shares of common stock to be sold							10,133,334
Potential common stock value to be sold							$8,412
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold							9,866,666
Common stock sold							1,838
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Potential common stock value to be sold								10,250	10,250
Number of shares of common stock sold							0	1,666,666
Common stock sold								250
Cash fee paid for commitment to purchase additional shares								155
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member] | Limit One [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common shares authorized to purchase							200,000
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member] | Limit Two [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common shares authorized to purchase							300,000
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member] | Limit Three [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Common shares authorized to purchase							400,000
Lincoln Park Capital Fund, LLC [Member] | Common Stock Purchase Agreement [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Class Of Stock [Line Items]
Closing price of common stock							$0.05
Common stock value under stock purchase agreement							$500

Capital_Stock_Summary_of_Share

Capital Stock - Summary of Shares of Common Stock Reserved for Future Issuance (Detail)	Mar. 31, 2015
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future issuance net	311,895,932
Options Outstanding [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future issuance net	30,426,753
Options Available for Future Grant [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future issuance net	4,508,319
Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future issuance net	117,891,242
Convertible Preferred Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Shares of common stock reserved for future issuance net	159,069,618

Related_Party_Transactions_Add

Related Party Transactions - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Related Party Transactions [Abstract]
Related party rent expense	$35	$35

Income_Taxes_Additional_Inform

Income Taxes - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Income Tax Disclosure [Abstract]
Provision for income taxes	$0

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Sto

Stock Options and Warrants - Stock Options - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	2 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2006	Dec. 31, 2010
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Unrecognized compensation expense related to stock options	$807
Unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested shares expected to be recognized, weighted-average period	2 years 5 months 27 days
2006 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of options that may be granted				15,000,000
Expiry of options	10 years
2010 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of options that may be granted					18,000,000
Expiry of options	10 years
Outside Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expiry of options	10 years
Options granted to employees, directors and consultants		10,257,593
Award vesting terms	50 months
2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Options granted to employees, directors and consultants	1,524,000		6,324,000
2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expiry of options	10 years

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Sch

Stock Options and Warrants - Schedule of Total Stock-Based Compensation Expense (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Employee Service Share Based Compensation Allocation Of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$250	$347
Cost of Sales [Member]
Employee Service Share Based Compensation Allocation Of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	7	15
Research and Development [Member]
Employee Service Share Based Compensation Allocation Of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	60	70
Selling and Marketing [Member]
Employee Service Share Based Compensation Allocation Of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	9	11
General and Administrative [Member]
Employee Service Share Based Compensation Allocation Of Recognized Period Costs [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$174	$251

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Sum

Stock Options and Warrants - Summary of Changes in Options Outstanding and Related Exercise Prices for Shares of Company's Common Stock Options Issued (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended	2 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2009	Dec. 31, 2013
2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Options, Outstanding, Beginning balance	21,319,637	16,028,400
Number of Options, Granted	1,524,000	6,324,000
Number of Options, Canceled or expired	-26,177	-1,032,763
Number of Options, Outstanding, Ending balance	22,817,460	21,319,637
Number of Options, Options vested and expected to vest Ending Balance	21,567,560
Number of Options, Options exercisable Ending Balance	13,984,014
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Outstanding, Beginning balance	$0.86	$1.12
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Granted	$0.06	$0.14
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Canceled or expired	$0.17	$0.53
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Outstanding, Ending balance	$0.80	$0.86
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Options vested or expected to vest Ending Balance	$0.84
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Options exercisable Ending Balance	$1.22
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term, Options Outstanding Ending Balance	6 years 6 months 15 days
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term, Options vested or expected to vest Ending Balance	6 years 4 months 17 days
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term, Options exercisable Ending Balance	4 years 10 months 17 days
Outside Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Options, Outstanding, Beginning balance	7,609,293			7,609,293
Number of Options, Granted			10,257,593
Number of Options, Outstanding, Ending balance	7,609,293			7,609,293
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Outstanding, Beginning balance	$0.62			$0.62
Weighted Average Exercise Price Per Share, Outstanding, Ending balance	$0.62			$0.62
Weighted Average Remaining Contractual Term, Options exercisable Ending Balance	4 years 7 months 10 days

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Res

Stock Options and Warrants - Restricted Stock Awards - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Stock-based compensation expense	$250	$347
Unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested shares expected to be recognized, weighted-average period	2 years 5 months 27 days
Restricted Stock [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Award vesting terms	1 year
Under 2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Grant-date fair value of restricted stock awards	17		29
Stock-based compensation expense	25		39
Unrecognized compensation costs	$7
Unrecognized compensation cost related to unvested shares expected to be recognized, weighted-average period	2 months 16 days

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Sum1

Stock Options and Warrants - Summary of Changes in Restricted Stock Award Activity (Detail) (Under 2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member], USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Under 2006 Plan and 2010 Plan [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Unvested, Beginning balance	145,000	145,000
Number of Shares, Granted	399,838	1,096,333
Number of Shares, Vested	-299,838	-1,096,333
Number of Shares, Unvested, Ending balance	245,000	145,000
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Unvested, Beginning balance	$0.16	$0.23
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Granted	$0.06	$0.17
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Vested	$0.06	$0.18
Weighted Average Grant Date Fair Value, Unvested, Ending balance	$0.12	$0.16

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_War

Stock Options and Warrants - Warrants Issued with Preferred Stock - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding	44,983,988	117,891,242	127,508,118
Series A Preferred Stock
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expiration date of warrants	2013-01
Series A Preferred Stock | Warrants Issued with Preferred Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding	0
Series B Preferred Stock | Warrants Issued with Preferred Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding	0

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_War1

Stock Options and Warrants - Warrants Issued in Connection with October 2014 Financing - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
Series B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Closing price of common stock	$0.06
Warrant exercise price	$0.04
Stock price volatility	65.10%
Options and warrant expected term	15 days
Dividend rate	0.00%
Series B Warrants [Member] | U.S. Treasury Notes [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Risk free interest rate	0.02%
Series C warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Closing price of common stock	$0.06
Warrant exercise price	$0.04
Stock price volatility	65.10%
Options and warrant expected term	6 months 15 days
Dividend rate	0.00%
Series C warrants [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Closing price of common stock	$0.04
Series C warrants [Member] | U.S. Treasury Notes [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Risk free interest rate	0.14%
Series-A and Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Closing price of common stock	$0.06
Warrant exercise price	$0.04
Stock price volatility	80.00%
Options and warrant expected term	5 years 15 days
Dividend rate	0.00%
Series-A and Placement Agent Warrants [Member] | U.S. Treasury Notes [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Risk free interest rate	1.37%

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Fai

Stock Options and Warrants - Fair Value of the Warrant Liabilities - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Oct. 14, 2014	Jun. 16, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair value of warrant liability in excess of proceeds	$1,779,000
Fair Value of Warrant Issued	4,831,000		3,355,000		4,216,000
Change in fair value of warrant liability		1,271,000	679,000	623,000
Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair Value of Warrant Issued	552,000
Series A Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair Value of Warrant Issued	2,299,000
Series B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair Value of Warrant Issued	841,000
Series C warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Fair Value of Warrant Issued	$1,139,000

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Ser

Stock Options and Warrants - Series B Warrant Exercises - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Proceeds from exercise of warrants	$431,000
Number of warrants exercised	9,616,876	5,894,214
Series B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Proceeds from exercise of warrants	$83,388	339,506
Number of warrants exercised	1,861,331	5,894,214

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Ser1

Stock Options and Warrants - Series C Warrant Exercises - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Proceeds from exercise of warrants	$431,000
Number of warrants exercised	9,616,876	5,894,214
Series C warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Proceeds from exercise of warrants	$347,448
Number of warrants exercised	7,755,545

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Ser2

Stock Options and Warrants - Series A, B, and C Warrants Price Adjustment - Additional Information (Detail) (Securities Purchase Agreement [Member], Series H Preferred Stock [Member], USD $)	0 Months Ended
	Oct. 14, 2014
Securities Purchase Agreement [Member] | Series H Preferred Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Convertible preferred stock, conversion price	$0.04

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_War2

Stock Options and Warrants - Warrants Issued with Common Stock - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended
	Sep. 10, 2014	Aug. 06, 2014	Jun. 26, 2014	29-May-14	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock sold	4,444,445	6,000,000	5,500,000	3,333,333	5,000,000	10,125,000
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock					2,500,000	5,062,500
Warrants exercisable price					$0.20	$0.20
Warrant term					5 years	5 years
Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants outstanding converted into common stock					250,000
Warrant term					5 years

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_201

Stock Options and Warrants - 2013 S-1 July Registered Offering - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Jul. 24, 2013	12-May-08	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price				$0.20	$0.20
Number of warrants issued	125,639,832
Series A Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Expiration date of warrants		24-Jul-18
Common Stock [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares/warrants included in units		20,000,000
Series B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of units issued		20,000,000
Expiration date of warrants		24-Oct-13
Series A Preferred Stock
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares/warrants included in units		20,000,000
Warrants exercisable price		0.15
Series B Preferred Stock
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price		0.15	$0.50
Number of units issued			400,000
Number of warrants issued		20,000,000

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_2011

Stock Options and Warrants - 2013 S-1 July Registered Offering - July 19, 2013 - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended			12 Months Ended
	Jul. 19, 2013	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Percentage of agent warrants to purchase on units issued in offering	5.00%
Number of warrants issued				125,639,832
Warrant term		5 years	5 years
Series B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Maximum amount of reimbursement payable to agent	75,000
Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants initial exercise price	0.15
Number of warrants issued	666,666
Percentage of agent warrants to purchase on units issued in offering	5.00%
Warrant term	5 years
Percentage of Agent cash solicitation fee on gross proceeds	5.00%

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Ser3

Stock Options and Warrants - Series A and B Warrant Exercises - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of warrants exercised	9,616,876	5,894,214
Series A and B Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of warrants exercised		0

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_2012

Stock Options and Warrants - 2014 Warrant Exchange Agreements - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 16, 2014	Jun. 11, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock issued for warrant exchange		44,665,783
Warrants, Exchanged		36,554,822			37,221,488
Warrants outstanding			117,891,242		127,508,118	44,983,988
Warrant liability reclassified to equity upon warrant exchange			$3,031,000
Change in fair value of warrant liability	1,271,000		679,000	623,000
Warrant exchange inducement expense			3,445,000
Value of common stock issued for warrant exchange			$6,428,000		$6,428,000
Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged		666,666
Warrants outstanding			0		0
Series A Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged		36,554,822
Warrants outstanding			0		0
Series A Warrants [Member] | Placement Agent Warrants [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrants, Exchanged		666,666
Series A Warrants [Member] | Dr. Andrey Semechkin and Ruslan Semechkin [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares of common stock issued for warrant exchange	12,105,784	12,105,784
Warrants outstanding	10,088,154	10,088,154	0

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_War3

Stock Options and Warrants - Warrants Issued with Other Financings - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Sep. 30, 2011	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2011
			Tranches
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrant term	5 years	5 years
Warrants outstanding				117,891,242	127,508,118	44,983,988
Skin Care [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of tranches of common stock warrants issuable			2
Number of shares which can be purchased by the exercise of warrants			100,000
Strike prices			$1.50
Vesting over four quarters				Four quarters
Warrant term			5 years
Warrants outstanding				200,000	200,000	200,000
Expiration date of warrants				30-Sep-16
Share-based Compensation Award, Tranche One | Skin Care [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares which can be purchased by the exercise of warrants							100,000
Strike prices			$1.50
Share-based Compensation Award, Tranche Two | Skin Care [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Number of shares which can be purchased by the exercise of warrants			100,000
Strike prices			$2
Maximum [Member] | Skin Care [Member]
Share-based Compensation Arrangement by Share-based Payment Award [Line Items]
Warrant term			5 years

Stock_Options_and_Warrants_Sum2

Stock Options and Warrants - Summary of Outstanding Warrants Related to Warrant Transactions (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Jun. 11, 2014	Mar. 31, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance		127,508,118	44,983,988
Warrants, Issued			125,639,832
Warrants, Exchanged	-36,554,822		-37,221,488
Warrants, Exercised		-9,616,876	-5,894,214
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		117,891,242	127,508,118
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Beginning balance				$0.20	$0.20
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Issued			$0.06
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exchanged			$0.15
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised			$0.06
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Ending balance				$0.20	$0.20
Minimum [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Beginning balance		0.06				$0.15
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised		0.04
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Ending balance		0.04				$0.15
Maximum [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Beginning balance		2				$2
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised		0.06
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Ending balance		2				$2
Weighted Average
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Beginning balance		0.07	$0.17
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Issued			$0.06
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exchanged			$0.15
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Exercised		0.04	$0.06
Weighted Average Exercise Price, Outstanding, Ending balance		0.06	$0.07
January Two Thousand Thirteen Financing
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance						5,062,500
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		5,062,500	5,062,500			5,062,500
March Two Thousand Thirteen Financing
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance						2,500,000
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		2,500,000	2,500,000			2,500,000
July 2013 Financing [Member] | Series A Common Stock [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance			36,554,822
Warrants, Exchanged			-36,554,822
July 2013 Financing [Member] | Placement Agent [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance			666,666
Warrants, Exchanged			-666,666
October 2014 Financing [Member] | Series A Common Stock [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrants, Issued			38,777,726
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		38,777,726	38,777,726
October 2014 Financing [Member] | Placement Agent [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Warrants, Issued			9,306,654
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		9,306,654	9,306,654
October 2014 Financing [Member] | Series B Common Stock [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance		32,883,512
Warrants, Issued			38,777,726
Warrants, Exercised		-1,861,331	-5,894,214
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		31,022,181	32,883,512
October 2014 Financing [Member] | Series C Common Stock [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance		38,777,726
Warrants, Issued			38,777,726
Warrants, Exercised		-7,755,545
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		31,022,181	38,777,726
Skin Care [Member]
Class of Warrant or Right [Line Items]
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Beginning balance						200,000
Number of Shares, Outstanding, Ending balance		200,000	200,000			200,000

Commitments_and_Contingencies_1

Commitments and Contingencies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		1 Months Ended
	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Jul. 31, 2012	Sep. 30, 2011	Jan. 01, 2013	Jul. 01, 2011
						Tranches	sqft	sqft
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Rent expense			$73,000	$79,000
Warrant term	5 years	5 years
Customer Concentration Risk [Member] | Customer One [Member] | Sales [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Percentage of revenue			14.00%	20.00%
Customer Concentration Risk [Member] | Other Customer [Member] | Sales [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Percentage of revenue				10.00%
Skin Care [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Percentage of net revenues for Direct Sales generated from the proprietary mailings						20.00%
Percentage of net revenues for Referral Sales					9.00%	10.00%
Termination of the agreement						30 days
Number of tranches of common stock warrants issuable						2
Number of shares which can be purchased by the exercise of warrants						100,000
Strike prices, tranche one						$1.50
Strike prices, tranche two						$2
Commission percentage on direct sale					18.00%
Commission expenses			5,000	13,000
Warrant term						5 years
Oceanside [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Current square feet of leased office and laboratory			8,215
Lease expiration period			2016-08
Current base rent			8,846
Percentage of increase in monthly base rent			3.00%
Frederick [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Current square feet of leased office and laboratory			5,520
Current base rent			8,865
Expiry of Lease			31-Dec-15
Expiry of lease additional			5 years
Priestly Drive [Member]
Commitments And Contingencies [Line Items]
Current square feet of leased office and laboratory			4,653				9,848	8,199
Current base rent			12,192
Percentage of increase in monthly base rent			3.00%
Expiry of Lease			29-Feb-16
Expiry of lease additional			5 years
Initial monthly base rent			$5,118

Commitments_and_Contingencies_2

Commitments and Contingencies - Summary of Future Minimum Lease Payments Required under Operating Leases that Have Initial or Remaining Non-Cancelable Lease Terms in Excess of One Year (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 31, 2015
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified
Operating Leases Future Minimum Payments Due [Abstract]
2015 (remaining nine months)	$277
2016	104
2017	5
Total	$386

Segments_and_Geographic_Inform2

Segments and Geographic Information - Additional Information (Detail)	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2015
	Product
	Subsidiary
	Segment
Segment Reporting [Abstract]
Number reporting segments	3
Number of wholly-owned subsidiaries	2
Human cell culture products	130

Segments_and_Geographic_Inform3

Segments and Geographic Information - Revenues, Expenses and Operating Income (Loss) by Market Segment (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Revenues:
Total revenues	$1,622	$1,649
Operating expenses:
Total operating expenses	3,588	3,714
Operating income (loss):
Total operating income (loss)	-1,966	-2,065
Cosmeceutical Market [Member]
Revenues:
Total revenues	841	803
Operating expenses:
Total operating expenses	712	788
Operating income (loss):
Total operating income (loss)	129	15
Biomedical Market [Member]
Revenues:
Total revenues	781	846
Operating expenses:
Total operating expenses	640	706
Operating income (loss):
Total operating income (loss)	141	140
Therapeutic Market [Member]
Operating expenses:
Total operating expenses	2,236	2,220
Operating income (loss):
Total operating income (loss)	($2,236)	($2,220)

Segments_and_Geographic_Inform4

Segments and Geographic Information - Summary of Significant Revenues in Following Regions (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Total revenues	$1,622	$1,649
North America [Member]
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Total revenues	1,300	1,349
Asia [Member]
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Total revenues	213	178
Europe [Member]
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Total revenues	90	109
All Other Regions [Member]
Revenues From External Customers And Long Lived Assets [Line Items]
Total revenues	$19	$13

Subsequent_Event_Additional_In

Subsequent Event - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	Mar. 12, 2013	Jan. 22, 2013	Apr. 14, 2015
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price	$0.20	$0.20
Subsequent Event [Member] | Series B Warrants [Member]
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Warrants exercisable price			$0.08