The Company	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2016
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
The Company	The Company PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “PTC”) was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 31, 1998. PTC is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of orally administered, small molecule therapeutics targeting an area of RNA biology referred to as post transcriptional control. Post-transcriptional control processes are the regulatory events that occur in cells during and after a messenger RNA molecule is copied from DNA through the transcription process. PTC has discovered all of its compounds currently under development using its proprietary technologies. PTC plans to continue to develop these compounds both on its own and through selective collaboration arrangements with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. PTC’s internally discovered pipeline addresses multiple therapeutic areas, including rare disorders and oncology. PTC’s lead product candidate is ataluren, an investigational new drug in the United States, for the treatment of patients with genetic disorders that arise from a type of genetic mutation known as a nonsense mutation. The Company holds worldwide commercialization rights to ataluren for all indications in all territories. The brand name of ataluren is Translarna^TM. The Company received conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission in August 2014 for Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or nmDMD, in ambulatory patients aged five years and older in the 31 member states of the European Economic Area, or EEA. The marketing authorization is subject to annual review and renewal by the European Commission following reassessment by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, of the risk-benefit balance of the authorization, or the annual EMA reassessment, as well as the Company’s satisfaction of any conditions and obligations that have been or may be placed upon the marketing authorization. The Company expects that the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, will adopt an opinion as to whether to renew the Company's marketing authorization by the end of 2016. During 2016, the Company’s revenues have been, and are expected to be, primarily generated from sales of Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD in countries in the EEA where pricing and reimbursement approval is obtained at acceptable levels and in other territories where the Company is permitted to distribute Translarna under reimbursed early access programs, or EAPs. If the Company's marketing authorization in the EEA is not renewed, or the product label applicable to the marketing authorization is materially restricted, the Company would lose all, or a significant portion of, its ability to generate revenue from product sales, whether pursuant to a commercial or an EAP program and throughout all territories. The Company is subject to a number of risks similar to those of other early stage companies, including dependence on key individuals, the difficulties inherent in the development of commercially usable products, the potential need to obtain additional capital necessary to fund the development of its products, and competition from other companies. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $708.3 million. The Company has financed its operations to date primarily through the private offering in August 2015 of 3.00% convertible senior notes due 2022 (see Note 9), public offerings of common stock in February 2014 and October 2014, its initial public offering of common stock in June 2013, private placements of its convertible preferred stock, collaborations, bank debt, convertible debt financings, grant funding and clinical trial support from governmental and philanthropic organizations and patient advocacy groups in the disease area addressed by the Company’s product candidates.

The Company

PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (the “Company” or “PTC”) was incorporated as a Delaware corporation on March 31, 1998. PTC is a global biopharmaceutical company focused on the discovery, development and commercialization of orally administered, small molecule therapeutics targeting an area of RNA biology referred to as post transcriptional control. Post-transcriptional control processes are the regulatory events that occur in cells during and after a messenger RNA molecule is copied from DNA through the transcription process. PTC has discovered all of its compounds currently under development using its proprietary technologies. PTC plans to continue to develop these compounds both on its own and through selective collaboration arrangements with leading pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. PTC’s internally discovered pipeline addresses multiple therapeutic areas, including rare disorders and oncology.

PTC’s lead product candidate is ataluren, an investigational new drug in the United States, for the treatment of patients with genetic disorders that arise from a type of genetic mutation known as a nonsense mutation. The Company holds worldwide commercialization rights to ataluren for all indications in all territories. The brand name of ataluren is Translarna^TM.

The Company received conditional marketing authorization from the European Commission in August 2014 for Translarna for the treatment of nonsense mutation Duchenne muscular dystrophy, or nmDMD, in ambulatory patients aged five years and older in the 31 member states of the European Economic Area, or EEA. The marketing authorization is subject to annual review and renewal by the European Commission following reassessment by the European Medicines Agency, or EMA, of the risk-benefit balance of the authorization, or the annual EMA reassessment, as well as the Company’s satisfaction of any conditions and obligations that have been or may be placed upon the marketing authorization. The Company expects that the EMA's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use, or CHMP, will adopt an opinion as to whether to renew the Company's marketing authorization by the end of 2016. During 2016, the Company’s revenues have been, and are expected to be, primarily generated from sales of Translarna for the treatment of nmDMD in countries in the EEA where pricing and reimbursement approval is obtained at acceptable levels and in other territories where the Company is permitted to distribute Translarna under reimbursed early access programs, or EAPs. If the Company's marketing authorization in the EEA is not renewed, or the product label applicable to the marketing authorization is materially restricted, the Company would lose all, or a significant portion of, its ability to generate revenue from product sales, whether pursuant to a commercial or an EAP program and throughout all territories. The Company is subject to a number of risks similar to those of other early stage companies, including dependence on key individuals, the difficulties inherent in the development of commercially usable products, the potential need to obtain additional capital necessary to fund the development of its products, and competition from other companies. As of September 30, 2016, the Company had an accumulated deficit of approximately $708.3 million. The Company has financed its operations to date primarily through the private offering in August 2015 of 3.00% convertible senior notes due 2022 (see Note 9), public offerings of common stock in February 2014 and October 2014, its initial public offering of common stock in June 2013, private placements of its convertible preferred stock, collaborations, bank debt, convertible debt financings, grant funding and clinical trial support from governmental and philanthropic organizations and patient advocacy groups in the disease area addressed by the Company’s product candidates.