Earnings Per Share (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2019	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Mar. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Basic net income attributable to Vertex per common share calculation:
Net income attributable to Vertex common shareholders	$ 583,234	$ 57,518	$ 267,427	$ 268,631	$ 1,550,527	$ 128,746	$ 207,360	$ 210,263	$ 1,176,810	$ 2,096,896	$ 263,484
Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities									0	(501)	(293)
Net income attributable to Vertex common shareholders—basic									$ 1,176,810	$ 2,096,395	$ 263,191
Basic weighted-average common shares outstanding	258,003	256,946	256,154	255,695	254,868	254,905	254,135	253,231	256,728	254,292	248,858
Basic net income (loss) attributable to Vertex per common share (usd per share)	$ 2.26	$ 0.22	$ 1.04	$ 1.05	$ 6.08	$ 0.51	$ 0.82	$ 0.83	$ 4.58	$ 8.24	$ 1.06
Diluted net income attributable to Vertex per common share calculation:
Less: Undistributed earnings allocated to participating securities									$ 0	$ (492)	$ (288)
Net income attributable to Vertex common shareholders—diluted									$ 1,176,810	$ 2,096,404	$ 263,196
Employee stock purchase plan (in shares)									14	17	28
Weighted-average shares used to compute diluted net income per common share (in shares)	262,108	260,473	259,822	260,175	259,812	259,788	258,584	258,526	260,673	259,185	253,225
Diluted net income (loss) attributable to Vertex per common share (usd per share)	$ 2.23	$ 0.22	$ 1.03	$ 1.03	$ 5.97	$ 0.50	$ 0.80	$ 0.81	$ 4.51	$ 8.09	$ 1.04
Stock options
Diluted net income attributable to Vertex per common share calculation:
Share-based payment arrangements (in shares)									2,231	2,913	2,797
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)									2,833	2,217	3,554
Unvested restricted stock and restricted stock units (including PSUs)
Diluted net income attributable to Vertex per common share calculation:
Antidilutive securities excluded from computation of earnings per share (in shares)									6	5	411
Restricted stock and restricted stock units (including PSUs)
Diluted net income attributable to Vertex per common share calculation:
Share-based payment arrangements (in shares)									1,700	1,963	1,542