Contingent Consideration - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Mar. 17, 2014 Consent and Amendment Agreement [Member]	Oct. 01, 2009 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Oct. 01, 2010 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Oct. 01, 2009 QLT USA and Eligard [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 Visudyne [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 Visudyne [Member]	Oct. 10, 2013 Visudyne [Member]	Sep. 24, 2012 Visudyne [Member]
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Proceeds from divestiture of businesses												$ 230,000,000
Cash proceeds received from sale of a subsidiary											10,000,000	118,300,000				112,500,000
Cash proceeds received from sale of a subsidiary on the closing date of the sale												20,000,000
Percentage of royalties to be received as contingent consideration							80.00%		80.00%
Date of assignment of license agreement for commercial marketing									Mar. 01, 2011
Maximum amount of contingent consideration pertaining to royalties							200,000,000		200,000,000				15,000,000
Expiration date of entitlement to contingent consideration						Oct. 01, 2024
Sanofi Prepayment					17,000,000
Cash proceeds received from contingent consideration related to the sale of subsidiary							5,500,000	9,300,000	38,100,000	28,200,000
Investing activities proceeds from contingent consideration	5,544,000	8,483,000	36,582,000	25,035,000			5,500,000	8,500,000	36,600,000	25,000,000
Fair value change in contingent consideration	0	71,000	1,466,000	1,904,000			0	800,000	1,500,000	3,200,000
Restricted cash																7,500,000
Laser Earn-Out Payment													5,000,000	5,000,000	5,000,000
Laser Earn-Out Payment to be received contingent upon laser registration after December 31, 2013 but before January 1, 2015													2,500,000
Laser Earn-Out Payment to be received contingent upon laser registration after January 1, 2015													0
Annual maximum amount of contingent consideration receivable from Visudyne royalties													5,000,000
Minimum threshold for contingent consideration receivable on Visudyne royalties													8,500,000
Potential collection costs													$ 1,000,000