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Fair Value Measurement (Details 2) (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2014	Dec. 31, 2013	Aug. 31, 2014
Assets:
Fair value of level 3 financial instruments as of December 31, 2013	$ 11,746,000us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue
Assumed payments made by Pfizer or assignee	(1,243,000)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetSettlements
Fair value adjustments to co-promote termination liability	(10,181,000)lgnd_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetFairValueAdjustment
Fair value of level 3 financial instrument assets as of December 31, 2014	322,000us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisAssetValue
Liabilities
Fair value of level 3 financial instruments as of December 31, 2013	21,057,000us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationsRecurringBasisLiabilityValue
Assumed payments made by Pfizer or assignee	(1,243,000)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisLiabilitySettlements
Payments to CVR holders and other contingency payments	(3,493,000)us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisLiabilityPurchases
Fair value adjustments to contingent liabilities	5,679,000lgnd_FairValueMeasurementwithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisLiabilityFairValueAdjustmentContingentLiabilities
Fair value adjustments to co-promote termination liability	(10,181,000)lgnd_FairValueMeasurementwithUnobservableInputsReconciliationRecurringBasisLiabilityFairValueAdjustmentCoPromotionTermination
Fair value of level 3 financial instruments as of December 31, 2014	11,819,000us-gaap_FairValueMeasurementWithUnobservableInputsReconciliationsRecurringBasisLiabilityValue
2019 Convertible Senior Notes
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Principal amount outstanding	245,000,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = lgnd_A2019ConvertibleSeniorNotesMember	0us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = lgnd_A2019ConvertibleSeniorNotesMember
Fair value of convertible debt	239,200,000us-gaap_ConvertibleDebtFairValueDisclosures / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = lgnd_A2019ConvertibleSeniorNotesMember
2019 Convertible Senior Notes | Senior Notes
Fair Value, Assets and Liabilities Measured on Recurring and Nonrecurring Basis [Line Items]
Principal amount outstanding	$ 245,000,000.0us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = lgnd_A2019ConvertibleSeniorNotesMember / us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis = us-gaap_SeniorNotesMember		$ 245,000,000.0us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount / us-gaap_DebtInstrumentAxis = lgnd_A2019ConvertibleSeniorNotesMember / us-gaap_LongtermDebtTypeAxis = us-gaap_SeniorNotesMember

X

- Definition

Fair Value, Measurement with Unobservable Inputs Reconciliation, Recurring Basis, Asset, Fair Value Adjustment

+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

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+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

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+ References

No definition available.

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- Definition

Fair value portion of borrowing which can be exchanged for a specified number of another security at the option of the issuer or the holder, for example, but not limited to, the entity's common stock.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Glossary Convertible Security

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- Definition

Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

+ References

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

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 835

-SubTopic 30

-Section 45

-Paragraph 2

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- Definition

Amount of settlement of financial instrument classified as an asset measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

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Amount of purchases of financial instrument classified as a liability measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

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Amount of settlements of financial instrument classified as a liability measured using unobservable inputs that reflect the entity's own assumption about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing.

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