Business Segments (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2012	Sep. 30, 2013 Segments	Sep. 30, 2012
Segment Reporting Information [Line Items]
Number of Reportable Segments			2
Revenues:
Sequenom Laboratories	$ 33,268	$ 12,501	$ 86,877	$ 25,391
Sequenom Bioscience	10,683	10,352	30,423	30,634
Total revenues	43,951	22,853	117,300	56,025
Operating income (loss)	(26,055)	(29,661)	(81,757)	(83,088)
Sequenom Laboratories
Revenues:
Sequenom Laboratories	33,268	12,501	86,877	25,391
Operating income (loss)	(9,552)	(19,694)	(40,562)	(54,379)
Sequenom Bioscience
Revenues:
Sequenom Bioscience	10,683	10,352	30,423	30,634
Operating income (loss)	1,445	843	2,527	1,595
Unallocated
Revenues:
Operating income (loss)	$ (17,948)	$ (10,810)	$ (43,722)	$ (30,304)