Despite drug R&D spending falling to a three-year low of $68 billion in 2010, pharmaceutical sales grew to a record $856 billion. Drug companies are spending 22% of global sales, of which only 5% come from products new to market over the past five years, on R&D. In 2010, 21 new molecular entities were introduced, of which seven were from “major” firms—those that spent upwards of $2 billion on pharmaceutical R&D in 2009. R&D productivity remains problematic. The number of drugs entering Phase III declined 55% from 2007 to 2010. The number of drugs entering Phase I and Phase II declined by 47% and 53%, respectively. “Self-originated molecules” were 20% more likely than “licensed in/acquired compounds” to come to market from both Phase III and “Submission.” The therapeutic area with the strongest R&D expenditure growth was anti-cancer, accounting for 26% of total R&D spending in 2010, followed by nervous system drugs and metabolism drugs at 12% and 11%, respectively.

Source: CMR International