Pharmaceutical industry - number of new substances 1998-2023
Between 2018 and 2023, American companies introduced a total of 148 new chemical or biological substances. Within the same period, Europe and Japan produced 81 and 43 new entities, respectively.
Total R&D spending
In 2023, the global pharmaceutical industry spent an estimated 262 billion U.S. dollars on research and development. Global pharmaceutical R&D expenditures have been increasing with (almost) each consecutive year since 2012 and are expected to keep growing: worldwide R&D spending is projected to reach over 300 billion U.S. dollars by 2028.
Patent expiration
Once the patent protection date of a branded drug expires, other pharmaceutical companies can take this opportunity to make cheaper versions of the original (a.k.a. generics). In 2023, about 51 billion U.S. dollars’ worth of prescription drug revenue was at risk due to patent expiration worldwide.