Molecular Templates, Inc. Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Annual report pursuant to Section 13 and 15(d)

Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) - Additional Information (Detail)

Stockholders' Equity (Deficit) - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012	Mar. 16, 2011	Oct. 05, 2009	Aug. 01, 2014	Oct. 29, 2010
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Aggregate offering price of common stock which the Company may issue and sell						$ 30,000,000	$ 17,600,000
Aggregate commission rate on gross proceeds						3.00%	3.00%
Common stock sold, shares	62,898,233us-gaap_CommonStockSharesIssued	59,232,611us-gaap_CommonStockSharesIssued
Net proceeds from sale of common stock	5,520,000	2,392,000	21,910,000
Reclassification of fair value from liability to permanent equity (deficit) of warrants exercised	10,116,000	11,462,000	27,867,000
Warrants outstanding	3,800,000
Investment Warrants Expiration Date	Oct. 05, 2014
March 2011 Offering
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Common stock sold, shares				14,313,081
Common stock sold, price per share				$ 2.05
Net proceeds from sale of common stock				27,800,000
Warrants exercisable, price per unit of warrant				$ 0.05
Warrants issued				5,725,227
Gross proceed from sale of common stock				30,100,000
Term of Warrants				5 years
Warrant exercise price				$ 2.46
Warrants outstanding	3,846,165	3,993,783
October 2009 Offering
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Common stock sold, shares					18,324,599
Common stock sold, price per share					$ 1.86
Net proceeds from sale of common stock					33,100,000
Warrants exercisable, price per unit of warrant					$ 0.05
Warrants issued					7,329,819
Gross proceed from sale of common stock					35,000,000
Term of Warrants					5 years
Warrant exercise price				$ 2.05
Warrants outstanding	0	4,287,940
October 2009 Offering \| Scenario, Previously Reported
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Warrant exercise price					$ 2.23
Common Stock
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Common stock sold, shares	0	0	2,022,144
Common stock sold, price per share			$ 6.29
Net proceeds from sale of common stock			12,300,000
Warrants
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Warrants exercised on a cashless basis	2,106,792	2,367,636	999,895
Net proceeds from warrants exercised	4,800,000	1,900,000	8,800,000
Common stock shares issued for cashless conversion of warrants	1,108,582	1,555,043	666,793
Warrants exercised on cash basis	2,328,766	933,475	4,060,538
Warrants \| March 2011 Offering
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Change in fair value of common stock warrants	8,000,000	500,000	17,100,000
Warrants \| October 2009 Offering
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Change in fair value of common stock warrants	1,300,000	600,000	24,200,000
Warrants \| August 2008 Offering
Class Of Warrant Or Right [Line Items]
Change in fair value of common stock warrants		$ 2,400,000	$ 9,900,000