Business	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Business	Business La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (collectively with its subsidiaries, the Company) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies intended to significantly improve outcomes in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. The Company was incorporated in 1989 as a Delaware corporation and reincorporated in California in 2012. GIAPREZA^TM (angiotensin II), formerly known as LJPC-501, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 21, 2017 as a vasoconstrictor to increase blood pressure in adults with septic or other distributive shock. GIAPREZA is the Company’s first commercial product. LJPC-401, a clinical stage investigational product, is our proprietary formulation of synthetic human hepcidin. LJPC-401 is being developed for the potential treatment of conditions characterized by iron overload, such as hereditary hemochromatosis, beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease and myelodysplastic syndrome. As of December 31, 2017, the Company had $90.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $65.7 million in cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2016. The Company has a history of incurring significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2017, the Company does not have sufficient capital to fund its planned operations during the twelve-month period subsequent to the issuance of these financial statements. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date this Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of assets and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. The Company anticipates that it will need to raise additional capital in order to fund these future operations. The Company will seek to fund its operations through equity, debt or royalty-based financings or other sources, such as potential collaboration agreements. The Company cannot be certain that additional funding will be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.

Business

La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (collectively with its subsidiaries, the Company) is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of innovative therapies intended to significantly improve outcomes in patients suffering from life-threatening diseases. The Company was incorporated in 1989 as a Delaware corporation and reincorporated in California in 2012.

GIAPREZA^TM (angiotensin II), formerly known as LJPC-501, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on December 21, 2017 as a vasoconstrictor to increase blood pressure in adults with septic or other distributive shock. GIAPREZA is the Company’s first commercial product.

LJPC-401, a clinical stage investigational product, is our proprietary formulation of synthetic human hepcidin. LJPC-401 is being developed for the potential treatment of conditions characterized by iron overload, such as hereditary hemochromatosis, beta thalassemia, sickle cell disease and myelodysplastic syndrome.

As of December 31, 2017, the Company had $90.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, compared to $65.7 million in cash and cash equivalents at December 31, 2016. The Company has a history of incurring significant operating losses and negative cash flows from operations. As of December 31, 2017, the Company does not have sufficient capital to fund its planned operations during the twelve-month period subsequent to the issuance of these financial statements. These factors raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern within one year from the date this Annual Report on Form 10-K is filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The accompanying consolidated financial statements do not include any adjustments relating to the recoverability of assets and classification of liabilities that might be necessary should the Company be unable to continue as a going concern. The Company anticipates that it will need to raise additional capital in order to fund these future operations. The Company will seek to fund its operations through equity, debt or royalty-based financings or other sources, such as potential collaboration agreements. The Company cannot be certain that additional funding will be available to us on acceptable terms, or at all.