PhRMA member companies have invested more than $600 billion in the search for new treatments and cures since 2000 – including an estimated $51.2 billion in 2014 alone.
PhRMA Member Companies Invested $51.2 Billion in R&D in 2014.
Earlier today, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) announced that its member companies have invested more than $600 billion in the search for new treatments and cures since 2000 – including an estimated $51.2 billion in 2014 alone.
The biopharmaceutical industry pours as much as six times more into R&D, relative to sales, than average U.S. manufacturers. In fact, last year PhRMA member companies invested nearly 24 percent of domestic sales into R&D. But we are proud to do so, because the results from that investment – breakthrough medicines – benefit those who need and deserve them most: America’s patients.
Today we are gathering the broadest, most diverse pipeline of potential new treatments in the history of modern medicine. More than 7,000 medicines and treatments are in development globally right now – and a 2012 analysis of our industry’s pipeline found that 70 percent of those medicines have the potential to be first-in-class, meaning they use a completely new approach to fighting a disease.
This commitment to scientific discovery leads to ground-breaking innovations in medical advancement and patient care. Since 2000, more than 500 new medicines have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – a record 51 in 2014 alone.
Relentless scientific inquiry is shifting the odds in the fight against some of the world’s most challenging diseases.
Just look at progress that has been made: In the U.S., the HIV/AIDS death rate is down nearly 85 percent. Cancer death rates are down nearly 22 percent from their peak, and the 5-year survival rate is now 68 percent. And new hepatitis C therapies have produced cure rates for patients above 90 percent.
What these figures demonstrate is that the commitment of America’s biopharmaceutical companies to solving the world’s most vexing medical challenges has never been more resolute. Our companies are tireless in their efforts to develop new innovative, life-saving medicines for patients – and these numbers are proof of that determination action.
Looking ahead, today’s R&D announcement demonstrates that this determination is perhaps stronger than it has ever been. And that is great news for patients.
Read more about our industry’s economic and societal contributions in PhRMA’s 2015 Biopharmaceutical Research Industry Profile and our new industry chart pack, Biopharmaceuticals in Perspective.
