Pharmaceutical Research and Development

Research and development (R&D) in the pharmaceutical industry is characterized by innovation, therapeutic value to the customer, and quality of product that helps customers achieve a better quality of life. In the molecular sciences there has been significant advances affecting the technology of new molecular entities (NME). NMEs have greatly expanded the role of drug treatment into a number of major therapeutic classes, such as Oncology and the Neurosciences. Examples of these beneficial inroads are medication’s role in cancer treatment and mentally handicapping diseases such as depression and bipolar disorders.

Since the beginning of the 1990s there has been a trend towards more industry mergers, particular among the giants in the pharmaceutical industry. However, these larger entities have not resulted in more innovation from research and development. Instead, mergers tend to incapacitate the larger entity with respect to innovative new drugs.

Research and development in the pharmaceutical industry is very expensive, considering that the average expenditure to bring a NME to market is $800 million and can take as long as 12 years from discovery through clinical trials to approval by the Food and Drug Administration. Companies also look for ways to modify existing drugs that result in new therapeutic values for customers. In addition, companies have branded their r&d efforts into targeted areas, like oncology or the neurosciences, for improved identification and communication with their customer groups.

Research and development in both the public and private sectors of the pharmaceutical industry have largely complemented one another and have resulted in breakthroughs in a number of therapeutic areas. Smaller and less capital-intensive companies have emerged with specialized research and development capabilities to both challenge and complement large pharmaceutical companies in this industry.