ALLIANCES AND COLLABORATIONS (AstraZeneca) (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended			3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended					3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended			9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2013	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 AstraZeneca [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 AstraZeneca [Member]	Dec. 31, 2016 AstraZeneca [Member]	Dec. 31, 2015 AstraZeneca [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member]	Jan. 31, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member]	Dec. 31, 2013 AstraZeneca [Member] Upfront, milestone and other licensing payments [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Amortization Income Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 AstraZeneca [Member] Amortization Income Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Amortization Income Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2013 AstraZeneca [Member] Amortization Income Expense [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Assets Not Yet Transferred to Alliance Partner [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Services Not Yet Performed For Alliance Partner [Member]	Dec. 31, 2016 AstraZeneca [Member] Amylin Related Products [Member]	Dec. 31, 2015 AstraZeneca [Member] Amylin Related Products [Member]	Mar. 31, 2017 AstraZeneca [Member] Amylin Related Products [Member] Maximum [Member]	Mar. 31, 2017 AstraZeneca [Member] Amylin Related Products [Member] Minimum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member]	Sep. 30, 2017 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2016 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2015 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Maximum [Member]	Sep. 30, 2017 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2016 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2015 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2014 AstraZeneca [Member] Onglyza, Kombiglyze and Forxiga [Member] Minimum [Member]
Alliances and Collaborations Statement [Line Items]
Number of agreements in collaboration													3
Annual limit on development agreement costs										$ 84,000,000	$ 127,000,000	$ 227,000,000
Proceeds received at the closing of the transaction						2,700,000,000		2,700,000,000
Total contingent regulatory and sales-based milestone payments to be potentially received as consideration for the sale of a business						1,400,000,000		1,400,000,000
Total contingent approval milestones to be potentially received as consideration for the sale of a business						800,000,000		800,000,000
Total contingent sales-based milestones to be potentially received as consideration for the sale of a business						600,000,000		600,000,000
Maximum contingent payments if and when certain assets are transferred						225,000,000		225,000,000
Royalty rate on net sales																					2.00%	2.00%	12.00%	5.00%		25.00%	27.00%	35.00%	44.00%	12.00%	9.00%	7.00%	3.00%
Royalty rate sales threshold - Minimum																									500,000,000
Royalty rate sales threshold - Maximum																									500,000,000
Total consideration received during the period								3,800,000,000
Contingent regulatory milestone payments received during the period								700,000,000
Portion of the proceeds received allocated to the sale of the business								3,300,000,000
Portion of the proceeds received allocated to the undelivered elements of the sales transaction								491,000,000
Allocation of goodwill to disposal group								600,000,000
Reversal of net deferred tax liabilities attributed to the inside tax basis of Amylin								821,000,000
Earned royalties								226,000,000
Earned royalties included in other income	102,000,000	31,000,000	354,000,000	120,000,000				184,000,000
Earned royalties allocated to undelivered elements								42,000,000
Net product sales	2,843,000,000	3,025,000,000	8,420,000,000	9,006,000,000		2,000,000	429,000,000	163,000,000	1,216,000,000
Alliance and other revenues	1,078,000,000	1,040,000,000	3,201,000,000	2,938,000,000		40,000,000	3,000,000	85,000,000	12,000,000
Total revenues	3,921,000,000	4,065,000,000	11,621,000,000	11,944,000,000		42,000,000	432,000,000	248,000,000	1,228,000,000
Profit sharing - Cost of products sold						1,000,000	169,000,000	78,000,000	493,000,000
Cost of products sold-amortization of deferred income	(1,007,000,000)	(1,175,000,000)	(2,966,000,000)	(3,346,000,000)												(78,000,000)		(227,000,000)
Payments to/(from) alliance partners - Cost of products sold							(10,000,000)	(9,000,000)	(19,000,000)
Payments to/(from) alliance partners - Marketing, selling and administrative							(30,000,000)	(7,000,000)	(101,000,000)
Payments to/(from) alliance partners - Advertising and product promotion							(10,000,000)	(4,000,000)	(28,000,000)
Payments to/(from) alliance partners - Research and development						(1,000,000)	(21,000,000)	(10,000,000)	(64,000,000)
Amortization of deferred income															23,000,000	8,000,000	57,000,000	23,000,000
Provision for restructuring	35,000,000	6,000,000	72,000,000	212,000,000			4,000,000	(2,000,000)	(21,000,000)
Royalties						(46,000,000)		(184,000,000)
Transitional services						(18,000,000)		(83,000,000)
Gain on sale of product lines, businesses, and assets	(315,000,000)		(567,000,000)	(1,000,000)		(292,000,000)		(539,000,000)
Deferred income - Cash Flow information			404,000,000	702,000,000		19,000,000		308,000,000	80,000,000
Proceeds from sale of business			3,277,000,000	8,000,000		94,000,000		3,248,000,000
Other investing activities			(37,000,000)			114,000,000		167,000,000
Deferred income	1,805,000,000		1,805,000,000		1,525,000,000														176,000,000	250,000,000
Deferred income from alliances included in liabilities related to assets held-for-sale														$ 3,671,000,000