Quantity vs Quality

Fresh numbers were taken from here and here:

"Investment in research and development by members of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America remained strong at $49.5 billion in 2011, as the sector adapts to meet the challenges of evolving science, a changing marketplace and a difficult economic environment.

The 2011 R&D investment figures reflect the biopharmaceutical sector's standing as America's most research-intensive industry. According to a recent report by the National Science Board of the National Science Foundation, the U.S. biopharmaceutical sector accounts for the single largest share of all U.S. business R&D, representing nearly 20 percent of all domestic R&D funded by U.S. businesses. In the U.S., R&D expenditures among PhRMA members represented a remarkable 21.1 percent of domestic sales.

In fact, last year alone, 35 new molecular entities received Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval – one of the highest totals in the last decade. These include medicines that address significant unmet medical need, including two personalized medicines for cancer, 11 new medicines for patients with rare diseases, the first new medicine for lupus since 1955, and two medicines that are the first in a new class to treat Hepatitis C.

These remarkable breakthroughs are a testament to our greater understanding of the molecular and genetic basis of disease. As our knowledge and research capabilities grow, PhRMA member companies are able to use those advances to develop more targeted and effective therapies, a new generation of treatments for the most costly and challenging diseases. According to a survey conducted by the Tufts University Center for the Study of Drug Development, 94 percent of surveyed companies are currently investing in the field of personalized medicine.

By continuing to explore enhancements to their R&D and manufacturing approaches, PhRMA member companies are striving to turn compounds in their ever-growing pipelines into medical breakthroughs for the good of patients across the world. Today, there are more than 3,200 medicines in clinical trials or undergoing FDA review in the U.S., up from 2,400 in 2005."

Are you impressed with the achievements? Well, I am glad that new medicines against Hepatitis were approved. But what did we get else for those $50Bn? Rare diseases? Well, we need these drugs also, but there are such diseases were needs are extremely unmet: lung, breast, prostate and colon cancers. We need general but not personalized medicine against oncological diseases! AD? There is nothing impressive so far! MS? What about it?

Basically the quantity of new drugs is impressive but it doesn’t say very much about the efficiency of research. I do still believe that Eroom’s low is correct as well as we have not obtained 2011 any Black Swan in pharma industry. Let’s hope that 2012 will be more impressive!