Description of Business and Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)					1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Jun. 29, 2017 USD ($)	Apr. 18, 2017 USD ($)	Mar. 01, 2017 shares	Nov. 09, 2016 USD ($)	Jan. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) Distributor shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) Distributor shares	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) shares	Sep. 30, 2017 USD ($) Distributor Contract shares	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($) shares	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($) Distributor Contract shares	Jun. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Jun. 27, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 23, 2014
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net revenue from collaboration							$ 62,000	$ 161,781,000	$ 187,000	$ 161,781,000
Gain on extinguishment of debt									(830,000)
Cash and cash equivalents						$ 22,895,000	20,092,000	$ 35,530,000	20,092,000	$ 35,530,000	$ 22,895,000			$ 59,074,000
Accumulated deficit						$ (2,737,565,000)	$ (2,822,114,000)		$ (2,822,114,000)		$ (2,737,565,000)
Stock split of common stock			0.2
Common stock, shares authorized | shares			140,000,000			140,000,000	140,000,000	700,000,000	140,000,000	700,000,000	140,000,000
Reverse stock split, description									The Company’s board of directors approved a reverse stock split ratio of 1-for-5. On March 1, 2017, the Company filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware a Certificate of Amendment of the Company’s Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation (the “Charter Amendment”) to effect the 1-for-5 reverse stock split of the Company’s outstanding common stock (the “Reverse Stock Split”) and to reduce the authorized number of shares of the Company’s common stock from 700,000,000 to 140,000,000 shares. The Company’s common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Market on a split-adjusted basis when the market opened on March 3, 2017. As a result, all common stock share amounts included in these condensed consolidated financial statements have been retroactively reduced by a factor of five, and all common stock per share amounts have been increased by a factor of five, with the exception of the Company’s common stock par value.
Net deferred revenue						$ 3,419,000	$ 3,021,000		$ 3,021,000		$ 3,419,000
Net revenue - commercial product sales							$ 1,981,000	$ 573,000	$ 4,726,000	$ 573,000
Number of wholesale distributors | Distributor							3		3
Percentage of product shipments to wholesale distributors							92.00%		92.00%
Deferred revenue from sale of raw insulin									$ 0		$ 1,700,000
Cash discount as incentive for prompt payment							2.00%		2.00%
Number of wholesale distributors accounted for gross accounts receivable | Distributor						3	3		3		3
Allowance for doubtful accounts						$ 0	$ 0		$ 0		$ 0
Percentage of accounts receivable from major wholesale distributors						95.00%	92.00%		92.00%		95.00%
Loss on purchase commitments, number of contracts recognized | Contract									0		0
License and Collaboration Agreement with Sanofi
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain on extinguishment of debt				$ 500,000
Senior notes, effective interest rate															8.50%
Third party logistics
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net deferred revenue						$ 800,000	$ 1,100,000		$ 1,100,000		$ 800,000
Insulin Put
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net revenue from collaboration						10,200,000
AFREZZA product sales
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Product sales revenue gross to net adjustments							$ 900,000		$ 2,400,000
Product sales revenue gross to net adjustments percentage							30.00%		33.00%
Minimum | AFREZZA product sales
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Sales return right following product expiration in months									6 months
Maximum | AFREZZA product sales
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Sales return right following product expiration in months									12 months
Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain on extinguishment of debt	$ (500,000)
Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Less portion of commitment asset
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Gain on extinguishment of debt		$ (300,000)
Principal stockholder | Loan Arrangement
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Available amount of credit facility under covenant restrictions												$ 19,400,000	$ 19,400,000
Amount available for future borrowings							$ 0		$ 0				$ 30,100,000
Accrued interest of related party debt						$ 9,300,000	$ 1,200,000		1,200,000		9,300,000	$ 10,700,000
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH | License and Collaboration Agreement with Sanofi
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net revenue from collaboration									172,000,000
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH | Insulin Put | License and Collaboration Agreement with Sanofi
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net revenue from collaboration									19,400,000
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH | AFREZZA product sales | License and Collaboration Agreement with Sanofi
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Net revenue from collaboration									$ 17,500,000
Sanofi-Aventis Deutschland GmbH | Put Option
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Payment for insulin put option					$ 30,600,000						$ 30,600,000
Aventisub LLC
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Outstanding loan balance forgive				$ 72,000,000
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Senior notes, effective interest rate							9.75%		9.75%
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Third Amendment [Member]
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Amount available for future borrowings	10,000,000
Conversion of notes to shares of common Stock, value	5,000,000
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Less portion of commitment asset
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Senior notes, effective interest rate							8.75%		8.75%
Cash repayment of senior notes under exchange agreement		4,000,000
Conversion of notes to shares of common Stock, value		1,000,000
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Tranche 1 Notes
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Conversion of notes to shares of common Stock, value		$ 5,000,000
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Minimum | Less portion of commitment asset
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Available amount of credit facility under covenant restrictions							$ 25,000,000		$ 25,000,000
Deerfield | Senior convertible notes due December 31, 2019 | Minimum | Less portion of commitment asset | Third Amendment [Member]
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements Disclosure [Line Items]
Available amount of credit facility under covenant restrictions	$ 10,000,000