Collaborative Arrangements (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended										12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended			12 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended				1 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013		Sep. 30, 2013	Jun. 30, 2013	Mar. 31, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012		Sep. 30, 2012	Jun. 30, 2012	Mar. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2013		Dec. 31, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2013 Janssen	Sep. 30, 2011 Janssen	Mar. 31, 2011 Janssen	Dec. 31, 2013 Janssen	Dec. 31, 2012 Janssen	Dec. 31, 2011 Janssen	Dec. 31, 2006 Janssen	Dec. 31, 2011 Bupa Home Healthcare Limited	Sep. 30, 2009 Bupa Home Healthcare Limited	Dec. 31, 2012 Bupa Home Healthcare Limited	Dec. 31, 2011 Bupa Home Healthcare Limited	Apr. 30, 2011 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Incorporated	Dec. 31, 2013 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Incorporated payment	Dec. 31, 2012 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Incorporated	Dec. 31, 2011 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Incorporated	Dec. 31, 2006 Cystic Fibrosis Foundation Therapeutics Incorporated	Jun. 30, 2011 Alios BioPharma, Inc	Dec. 31, 2013 Alios BioPharma, Inc lines	Dec. 31, 2012 Alios BioPharma, Inc	Dec. 31, 2011 Alios BioPharma, Inc	Dec. 31, 2013 Research and Development Arrangement Alios BioPharma, Inc	Dec. 31, 2013 Research and Development Arrangement Alios BioPharma, Inc
Schedule of Collaborative Arrangements
Drug development costs to be paid by collaborator (as a percent)																			50.00%
Tiered royalty average range, as a percentage of net sales in the Janssen territories																			20.00%
Up-front license payment																						$ 165,000,000
Deferred revenue related to up-front license payment																5,000,000			5,000,000	32,100,000
Total contingent milestone payments earned																			350,000,000
Milestone payment earned pursuant to the collaborative agreement																	200,000,000	50,000,000
Royalty revenues	36,887,000		27,012,000	49,120,000	43,573,000	43,451,000		25,586,000	33,480,000	38,981,000	156,592,000		141,498,000		50,015,000				130,724,000	117,592,000	20,289,000
Collaborative revenues:
Up-front and amendment payments revenues																			190,345,000	12,428,000	12,428,000				12,744,000	38,232,000
Milestone revenues																			0	0	250,000,000				485,000	68,515,000		9,300,000					60,000,000
Net reimbursement (payment) for telaprevir development costs																			2,793,000	(3,507,000)	(8,418,000)
Reimbursement for manufacturing services																			10,299,000	7,257,000	20,383,000				5,650,000	14,928,000
Collaborative revenues	185,448,000		8,035,000	6,841,000	17,414,000	9,234,000		6,919,000	11,552,000	24,381,000	217,738,000		52,086,000		409,722,000	182,400,000			203,437,000	16,178,000	274,393,000				18,879,000	121,675,000		14,300,000	17,000,000	13,700,000
Total revenues	351,157,000		221,700,000	310,750,000	328,368,000	333,994,000		336,006,000	418,305,000	438,737,000	1,211,975,000		1,527,042,000		1,410,626,000				334,161,000	133,770,000	294,682,000
License fee paid upon amendment of agreement																152,000,000								105,000,000
Milestone payment received																							65,000,000								1,500,000
Deferred revenue related to up-front license payment																5,000,000			5,000,000	32,100,000
Collaborative funding																											75,000,000
Number of years over which funding will be made (in years)																											5 years
Number of commercial milestone payments for achievement of certain sales levels for corrector compound such as VX-809 or VX-661 (in payments)																												2
Up-front payment																																60,000,000
Milestone payments																			0	0	250,000,000				485,000	68,515,000		9,300,000					60,000,000
Development milestone payments, maximum																																	312,500,000
Commercial milestone payments, maximum																																750,000,000
Notice period for termination of contract due to technical failure (in days)																																30 days
Notice period for termination of contract after completion of clinical trials (in days)																																60 days
Latest expiration period for royalty obligation after first commercial sale in country unless contract is terminated earlier (in years)																																10 years
Intangible asset impairment charges	250,600,000		0	0	412,900,000	0		0	0	0	663,500,000		0		105,800,000																					250,600,000	250,600,000
Change in deferred income taxes																																					102,100,000
Deconsolidation, Gain (Loss), Amount																																					68,200,000
Collaborative Arrangements, Upfront License Fees and Milestone Payments																																					120,000,000
Noncontrolling Interest (Alios)
Number of lines on balance sheet where noncontrolling interest is reported (lines)																																	2
Loss before provision for (benefit from) income taxes																																	283,747,000	20,044,000	9,536,000
Decrease (increase) in fair value of contingent milestone and royalty payments																																	124,920,000	(114,970,000)	(69,950,000)
Provision for (benefit from) income taxes	(155,704,000)		(751,000)	(1,799,000)	(130,313,000)	(2,696,000)		21,355,000	20,063,000	32,000	(288,567,000)		38,754,000		19,266,000																		(166,145,000)	39,029,000	48,809,000
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interest (Alios)	(228,834,000)		(4,530,000)	(4,547,000)	(4,611,000)	(1,928,000)		31,076,000	30,463,000	(3,714,000)	(242,522,000)		55,897,000		11,605,000																		242,522,000	(55,897,000)	(11,605,000)
Restricted cash and cash equivalents (Alios)	0	[1]				69,983,000	[1]				0	[1]	69,983,000	[1]																				69,983,000
Prepaid expenses and other current assets	23,836,000	[1]				24,673,000	[1]				23,836,000	[1]	24,673,000	[1]																				672,000
Property and equipment, net	696,911,000	[1]				433,609,000	[1]				696,911,000	[1]	433,609,000	[1]																				1,728,000
Intangible assets																																		250,600,000	250,600,000
Other assets	2,432,000	[1]				9,668,000	[1]				2,432,000	[1]	9,668,000	[1]																				861,000
Accounts payable	49,327,000	[1]				101,292,000	[1]				49,327,000	[1]	101,292,000	[1]																				1,054,000
Accrued expenses	271,077,000	[1]				264,884,000	[1]				271,077,000	[1]	264,884,000	[1]																				6,099,000
Income taxes payable (Alios)	0	[1]				715,000	[1]				0	[1]	715,000	[1]																				715,000
Deferred tax liability	0	[1]				280,367,000	[1]				0	[1]	280,367,000	[1]																				152,781,000
Other liabilities, excluding current portion	11,590,000	[1]				13,902,000	[1]				11,590,000	[1]	13,902,000	[1]																				910,000
Redeemable noncontrolling interest (Alios)	0	[1]				38,530,000	[1]				0	[1]	38,530,000	[1]																				38,530,000
Noncontrolling interest (Alios)	0	[1]				196,672,000	[1]				0	[1]	196,672,000	[1]																				196,672,000
Collaborative revenues	$ 185,448,000		$ 8,035,000	$ 6,841,000	$ 17,414,000	$ 9,234,000		$ 6,919,000	$ 11,552,000	$ 24,381,000	$ 217,738,000		$ 52,086,000		$ 409,722,000	$ 182,400,000			$ 203,437,000	$ 16,178,000	$ 274,393,000				$ 18,879,000	$ 121,675,000		$ 14,300,000	$ 17,000,000	$ 13,700,000

[1] Amounts as of December 31, 2012 include the assets and liabilities of Vertex’s variable interest entity (“VIE”), Alios BioPharma, Inc. (“Alios”). The Company deconsolidated Alios as of December 31, 2013. Vertex’s interests and obligations with respect to the VIE’s assets and liabilities are limited to those accorded to Vertex in its agreement with Alios. See Note B, "Collaborative Arrangements," to these consolidated financial statements for amounts.