Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2018
Income Statement [Abstract]
Revenues	$ 8,071	$ 12,637
Operating expenses:
Research and development	34,850	23,547
General and administrative	17,118	10,087
Total operating expenses	51,968	33,634
Loss from operations	(43,897)	(20,997)
Interest and other income, net	1,694	810
Net loss	(42,203)	(20,187)
Net loss attributable to non-controlling interest	(53)
Net loss to Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. stockholders	$ (42,150)	$ (20,187)
Basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. stockholders	$ (0.41)	$ (0.23)
Shares used in computing basic and diluted net loss per share attributable to Sangamo Therapeutics, Inc. stockholders	102,270	86,334