Nature of Business

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2015

Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]

Nature of Business

1. Nature of Business

Agios Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Agios” or “the Company”) is a biopharmaceutical company committed to the fundamental transformation of patients’ lives through scientific leadership in the field of cancer metabolism and rare genetic metabolic disorders. The Company has built a unique set of core capabilities in the field of cellular metabolism, with the goal of making transformative, first or best in class medicines. The Company’s therapeutic areas of focus are cancer and rare genetic metabolic disorders, which are a broad group of more than 600 rare genetic diseases caused by mutations, or defects, of single metabolic genes. In both of these areas, the Company is seeking to unlock the biology of cellular metabolism to create transformative therapies. The Company is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Liquidity

The Company has an accumulated deficit as of December 31, 2015 of $284.7 million and will require substantial capital for research and product development. The future success of the Company is dependent on its ability to develop its product candidates and ultimately upon its ability to attain profitable operations. The Company is subject to a number of risks similar to other life science companies, including, but not limited to, risks related to the successful discovery and development of its drug candidates, raising additional capital, development of new technological innovations by its competitors, protection of proprietary technology, and market acceptance of the Company’s products.

In addition to the Company’s existing cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, the Company is eligible to earn a significant amount of milestone payments and is entitled to additional cost reimbursements under its collaboration agreement with Celgene. At December 31, 2015, the Company believes its cash, cash equivalents and marketable securities, totaling $375.9 million, are sufficient to fund operations for a period of at least 12 months from the balance sheet date.