Acquisitions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions		1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				9 Months Ended
		Oct. 31, 2016	Jan. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Jun. 30, 2015	Mar. 31, 2015	Sep. 30, 2016	Sep. 30, 2015	Dec. 31, 2015	Jan. 01, 2015	Dec. 31, 2014
Cost of sales				$ 1,400.9	$ 1,236.9			$ 4,188.9	$ 3,648.0
Interest Expense				47.2	39.3			133.8	117.0
Restricted cash												$ 5,410.0
Payments to Acquire Businesses, Net of Cash Acquired								45.0	5,287.8
Goodwill				4,007.7				4,007.7		$ 4,039.9
Acquired in-process research and development				0.0	0.0			0.0	336.0
Purchased in-process research and development								0.0	386.0
Novartis Animal Health [Member]
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Inventory											$ 380.2
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred			$ 5,280.0
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Finite-Lived Intangibles	[1]										1,953.0
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Indefinite-Lived Intangible Assets											298.0
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred											5,283.1
Acquired Finite-lived Intangible Assets, Weighted Average Useful Life			19 years
Business Acquisition, Goodwill, Expected Tax Deductible Amount											1,000.0
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Property, Plant, and Equipment											199.9
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Assets held for sale											422.7
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Noncurrent Liabilities, Other											(108.7)
Goodwill	[2]										2,271.1
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Deferred Tax Liabilities Noncurrent											(60.1)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Liabilities											(73.0)
Business Combination, Recognized Identifiable Assets Acquired and Liabilities Assumed, Net											$ 3,012.0
Innovent Biologics, Inc. [Member]
Acquired in-process research and development							$ 56.0
Hanmi Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. [Member]
Acquired in-process research and development						$ 50.0
BioNTech AG [Member]
Acquired in-process research and development						$ 30.0
Tanezumab [Member]
Acquired in-process research and development							$ 200.0
Subsequent Event [Member] | Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica, Inc.'s U.S. Vaccine Portfolio [Member]
Business Combination, Consideration Transferred		$ 885.0
Discontinued Operations, Held-for-sale [Member] | United States [Member] | U.S. Sentinel Product Line [Member]
Proceeds from Divestiture of Businesses			$ 410.0
Corporate, Non-Segment [Member]
Amortization of Intangible Assets				177.7	152.5			518.8	457.2
Acquired in-process research and development				0.0	0.0			0.0	336.0
Corporate, Non-Segment [Member] | Fair Value Adjustment to Inventory [Member]
Cost of sales				$ 0.0	$ 21.2			$ 0.0	$ 153.0

[1] (1) These intangible assets, which are being amortized to cost of sales on a straight-line basis over their estimated useful lives, were expected to have a weighted average useful life of 19 years.

[2] (2) The goodwill recognized from this acquisition is attributable primarily to expected synergies from combining the operations of Novartis AH with our legacy animal health business, future unidentified projects and products, and the assembled workforce of Novartis AH. Approximately $1.0 billion of the goodwill associated with this acquisition is deductible for tax purposes.