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Contingencies - Fosamax Litigation - Narrative (Details) - Fosamax $ in Millions	1 Months Ended			3 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2014 legalmatter	Dec. 31, 2013 USD ($) legalmatter	Mar. 31, 2017 legalmatter	Jul. 31, 2015 legalmatter	Nov. 30, 2013 legalmatter
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				4,215
ONJ Litigation
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				20
Settlement agreement amount for (against) the company | $	$ (27.3)		$ (27.7)
Number of claims settled (in legal matters)			1,200
Percentage of participation in litigation settlement (as percent)	95.00%
Femur Fracture Litigation
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				4,195
Femur Fracture Litigation | Federal
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				7
Loss contingency, claims dismissed, number (in legal matters)		650		540
Loss contingency, claims on appeal, number (in legal matters)				515
Femur Fracture Litigation | New Jersey state court
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				2,855
Loss contingency, initial cases selected for review, number (in legal matters)				30
Loss contingency, subsequent cases selected for review, number (in legal matters)		50			25	50
Femur Fracture Litigation | California state court
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				280
Loss contingency, initial cases selected for review, number (in legal matters)		10
Femur Fracture Litigation | Other state courts
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Loss contingency, pending claims, number (in legal matters)				5

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Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 450
-SubTopic 20
-Section 50
-Paragraph 4
-Subparagraph (a)
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=25496072&loc=d3e14435-108349

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