Pharma R&D Returns Continue to Fall

Projected returns on investment in R&D for the top 12 pharma companies have fallen to just 3.7 percent this year, from a high of 10.1 per cent in 2010, according to an annual study by Deloitte’s Centre for Health Solutions. This is the lowest point since the study began six years ago, Deloitte reports.

Since 2010, the top 12 pharma companies have launched 233 products. Over the same period, their R&D divisions have progressed 376 products into late stage pipelines, with total forecast sales of $1,697 billion.  Although in the last year costs to bring each drug from discovery to launch have stabilized, moving from $1,576 million in 2015 to $1,539 million in 2016, peak sales per product have continued to fall. They have now dropped 11.4 per cent year-on-year since 2010, to an average of $394 million this year. 

The report indicates that the following strategic factors may also have an impact on R&D returns:

• End of the blockbuster

• Focused therapy areas

• Learning from the small

• Increase of M&A.

Access the report Measuring the return from pharmaceutical innovation 2016: Balancing the R&D equation.