PhRMA member companies invested $58.8 billion in R&D in 2015

Print 18 May 2016
Stephen J. Ubl / PhRMA

For more than 30 years, the U.S. biopharmaceutical industry has been the world leader in the development of new medicines, driving innovation for patients. And PhRMA member companies continue to be at the forefront.

According to the 2016 Biopharmaceutical Research Industry Profile and corresponding industry chart pack,Biopharmaceuticals In Perspective, released today, PhRMA member companies invested an estimated $58.8 billion in research and development (R&D) in 2015, up 10.3 percent from 2014.

Looking back at R&D investments since 2000, PhRMA members have invested more than half a trillion dollars, establishing the biopharmaceutical sector as the most R&D-intensive industry in the U.S. economy. In fact, the biopharmaceutical industry invests on average six times more in R&D as a percentage of sales than all other manufacturing industries.

PhRMA member companies are steadfast in their commitment to the development of new treatments and cures. Through investment in R&D, biopharmaceutical researchers and scientists have gained a better understanding of diseases and a greater ability to harness new scientific advances, leading to tremendous progress in the development of treatments and cures for some of the most costly and debilitating diseases patients face.

Today, there are more than 7,000 medicines in clinical development. In 2015 alone, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a record number of new medicines, bringing the total number of approvals to more than 550 new medicines from 2000 to 2015. Examples of new therapies approved in 2015 include the novel oncolytic virus therapy for the treatment of melanoma, a new class of cholesterol-lowering medicines and new immunotherapy treatments for cancer.

The U.S. biopharmaceutical industry is delivering greater value than ever before – transforming patients’ lives, lowering projected health care costs, strengthening the U.S. economy and helping to improve the drug review and approval process, all while investing for the long term.

Learn more about solutions for how the biopharmaceutical industry, government and other stakeholders could further support progress and increased value in the health care system here.

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