PhRMA: Members Poured $58.8 B into R&D in 2015

Industry poured $58.8 billion into pharmaceutical research and development in 2015, an increase of 10.3 percent from 2014, according to PhRMA.

This staggering sum is attributed to increased clinical trial complexity, bigger clinical trial sizes, greater focus on chronic and degenerative diseases, and rising failure rates for treatments in early trials, according to a survey of 31 of the trade group’s 56 members.

The survey shows that biopharmaceutical companies spend on average six times more on R&D as a percentage of sales than all other manufacturing industries.