Nature of Business	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Nature of Business	Nature of Business The Medicines Company (the Company) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on saving lives, alleviating suffering and contributing to the economics of healthcare by focusing on 3,000 leading acute/intensive care hospitals worldwide. The Company markets Angiomax^®(bivalirudin), Recothrom^®Thrombin, topical (Recombinant),Cleviprex^® (clevidipine) injectable emulsion and Minocin^® IV (Minocycline for Injection). The Company also has a pipeline of acute and intensive care hospital products in development, including five product candidates for which it has submitted applications for regulatory approval or plans to submit applications for regulatory approval in 2014, which the Company refers to as its registration stage product candidates, cangrelor, oritavancin, IONSYS^TM(fentanyl iontophoretic transdermal system), Fibrocaps^TM and RPX-602, and three research and development product candidates, MDCO-216, Carbavance^TM and ALN-PCSsc. The Company believes that its marketed products and products in development possess favorable attributes that competitive products do not provide, can satisfy unmet medical needs in the acute and intensive care hospital product market and offer, or, in the case of its products in development, have the potential to offer, improved performance to hospital businesses. In addition to these products and product candidates, the Company sells a ready-to-use formulation of Argatroban and has a portfolio of ten generic drugs, which it refers to as its acute care generic products, that the Company has the non-exclusive right to market in the United States. The Company is currently selling three of its acute care generic products, midazolam, ondansetron and rocuronium. The Company also co-promotes the oral tablet antiplatelet medicine BRILINTA^® (ticagrelor) in the United States, as part of its global collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca LP (AstraZeneca) and the Boston Scientific Promus PREMIER^TM Everolimus-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System (Promus PREMIER Stent System) in the United States under the Company's co-promotion agreement with Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX).

Nature of Business

The Medicines Company (the Company) is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on saving lives, alleviating suffering and contributing to the economics of healthcare by focusing on 3,000 leading acute/intensive care hospitals worldwide. The Company markets Angiomax^®(bivalirudin), Recothrom^®Thrombin, topical (Recombinant),Cleviprex^® (clevidipine) injectable emulsion and Minocin^® IV (Minocycline for Injection). The Company also has a pipeline of acute and intensive care hospital products in development, including five product candidates for which it has submitted applications for regulatory approval or plans to submit applications for regulatory approval in 2014, which the Company refers to as its registration stage product candidates, cangrelor, oritavancin, IONSYS^TM(fentanyl iontophoretic transdermal system), Fibrocaps^TM and RPX-602, and three research and development product candidates, MDCO-216, Carbavance^TM and ALN-PCSsc. The Company believes that its marketed products and products in development possess favorable attributes that competitive products do not provide, can satisfy unmet medical needs in the acute and intensive care hospital product market and offer, or, in the case of its products in development, have the potential to offer, improved performance to hospital businesses.

In addition to these products and product candidates, the Company sells a ready-to-use formulation of Argatroban and has a portfolio of ten generic drugs, which it refers to as its acute care generic products, that the Company has the non-exclusive right to market in the United States. The Company is currently selling three of its acute care generic products, midazolam, ondansetron and rocuronium. The Company also co-promotes the oral tablet antiplatelet medicine BRILINTA^® (ticagrelor) in the United States, as part of its global collaboration agreement with AstraZeneca LP (AstraZeneca) and the Boston Scientific Promus PREMIER^TM Everolimus-Eluting Platinum Chromium Coronary Stent System (Promus PREMIER Stent System) in the United States under the Company's co-promotion agreement with Boston Scientific Corporation (BSX).