Recent Accounting Pronouncements

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Recent Accounting Pronouncements [Abstract]

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

Recent Accounting Pronouncements

In October 2009, the Financial Accounting Standards Board ("FASB") issued Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) No. 2009-13, “Multiple-Deliverable Revenue Arrangements”, which amends FASB ASC Topic 605. ASU No. 2009-13 addresses how to determine whether an arrangement involving multiple deliverables contain more than one unit of accounting and how to allocate consideration to each unit of accounting in the arrangement. This pronouncement replaces all references to fair value as the measurement criteria with the term selling price and establishes a hierarchy for determining the selling price of a deliverable. The pronouncement also eliminates the use of the residual value method for determining the allocation of arrangement consideration, and requires additional disclosures. This pronouncement should be applied prospectively for revenue arrangements entered into or materially modified in fiscal years beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. Lexicon adopted this pronouncement in 2011 and there was no material impact to its consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

In April 2010, the FASB issued ASU No. 2010-17, “Milestone Method of Revenue Recognition”, which amends FASB ASC Topic 605. ASU No. 2010-17 provides guidance on defining a milestone and determining when it may be appropriate to apply the milestone method of revenue recognition for research or development transactions. Research or development arrangements frequently include payment provisions whereby a portion or all of the consideration is contingent upon milestone events such as successful completion of phases in a study or achieving a specific result from the research or development efforts. The amendments in this ASU provide guidance on the criteria that should be met for determining whether the milestone method of revenue recognition is appropriate. ASU 2010-17 is effective for fiscal years and interim periods within those years beginning on or after June 15, 2010, with early adoption permitted. Lexicon adopted this pronouncement in 2011 and there was no material impact to its consolidated results of operations and financial condition.

In June 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-05, “Presentation of Comprehensive Income”, which improves the comparability, consistency, and transparency of financial reporting and increases the prominence of items reported in other comprehensive income by eliminating the option to present components of other comprehensive income as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. The amendments in this standard require that all non-owner changes in stockholders' equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. Under either method, adjustments must be displayed for items that are reclassified from other comprehensive income (“OCI”) to net income, in both net income and OCI. The standard does not change the current option for presenting components of OCI gross or net of the effect of income taxes, provided that such tax effects are presented in the statement in which OCI is presented or disclosed in the notes to the financial statements. Additionally, the standard does not affect the calculation or reporting of earnings per share. This pronouncement should be applied retrospectively for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011, with early adoption permitted. Management does not expect the adoption of this standard to have a material impact on Lexicon's consolidated financial statements.