Litigation Product Liability Litigation (Details) (Byetta [Member], Pending or Threatened Litigation [Member])	3 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2012
Byetta [Member] \| Pending or Threatened Litigation [Member]
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Approximate number of seperate product liability cases involded in	96
Approximate number of plaintiffs in separate liability cases	536
Approximate number of plaintiffs that had previously filed cases and have dismissed their cases	72

The total amount of pending claims pertaining to a loss contingency accrual as of the balance sheet date.

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 5

-Paragraph 9, 10, 11, 12

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.

Name:	us-gaap_LossContingencyPendingClaimsNumber
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	instant