Commitments and Contingencies (Details) $ in Thousands				1 Months Ended
	Aug. 24, 2015 lawsuit	Mar. 04, 2015 officer	Sep. 12, 2012 USD ($) employee	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2018 USD ($)
Contingent Potential Milestone Payments, Year ending December 31,
2018					$ 12,994
2019					5,220
2020					3,070
2021 and Beyond					950
Total					$ 22,234
Fera Pharmaceuticals, LLC v. Akorn Inc.
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of former employees | employee			1
Damages sought			$ 135,000
Yeung v. Akorn, Inc., et al.
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Number of officers | officer		3
Yeung v. Akorn, Inc., et al. and Sarzynski v. Akorn, Inc., et al.
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Lawsuits filed (in lawsuit) | lawsuit	2
Litigation settlement, amount awarded to other party				$ 24,000
Payments for legal settlements				5,000
Company's Insurers | Yeung v. Akorn, Inc., et al. and Sarzynski v. Akorn, Inc., et al.
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Payments for legal settlements				$ 19,000