Pharma Spent $38.8B on R&D in 2004, a 12-Percent Jump; Breakdown on Genomic Spending Due Soon

NEW YORK, Feb. 18 (GenomeWeb News) - Member companies of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America collectively spent $38.8 billion on R&D last year in their drug-discovery and -development efforts, the organization said today.

The $38.8 billion in R&D represents a 12-percent increase over the $34.5 billion pharma collectively spent on R&D in 2003, and tops a steady increase in R&D over more thantwo decades, the organization said.  1980, PhRMA spent $2 billion on R&D.

A breakdown of the R&D spending by research categories, such as genomics and proteomics, is expected to be ready in a few weeks, a representative of PhRMA told GenomeWeb News. In terms of R&D spending by location, PhRMA member companies spent $30.6 billion, or 18 percent of domestic sales, on R&D within the United States, and an estimated $8.2 billion on R&D abroad.

PhRMA President and CEO Billy Tauzin said the US drug industry "is the world's largest source of investment in discovering better treatments [and exceeds] the international pharmaceutical industry and the National Institutes of Health."