Acquisition of ViroChem Pharma Inc. (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended	9 Months Ended										3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2011	Sep. 30, 2012		Dec. 31, 2011		Sep. 30, 2012 ViroChem	Dec. 31, 2011 ViroChem	Mar. 12, 2009 ViroChem	Sep. 30, 2012 ViroChem VX-222	Dec. 31, 2011 ViroChem VX-222	Sep. 30, 2011 ViroChem VX-759
Business Acquisition
Percent of voting interest acquired in ViroChem									100.00%
Intangible assets			$ 663,500,000	[1]	$ 663,500,000	[1]				$ 412,900,000	$ 412,900,000
Goodwill			30,992,000	[1]	30,992,000	[1]	26,100,000	26,100,000
Deferred tax liability			279,466,000	[1]	243,707,000	[1]	127,600,000	127,600,000
Intangible asset impairment charge	105,800,000	105,800,000										105,800,000
Deferred tax liability adjustment associated with impairment recognition												$ 32,700,000

[1] Amounts include the assets and liabilities of Vertex's variable interest entity ("VIE"), Alios BioPharma, Inc. ("Alios"). 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 C, "Collaborative Arrangements," to these condensed consolidated financial statements for amounts.