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New drug costs soar to $2.6 billion

Nature Biotechnology volume 32, page 1176 (2014)Cite this article

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The Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development issued their latest estimate for the cost of developing a new drug: an eye-popping $2.6 billion. The estimate, made by the independent, nonprofit research group, is based on data provided by ten pharma companies on 106 randomly selected drugs. It includes out-of-pocket costs of $1.4 billion and another $1.1 billion in time costs—“the expected returns that investors forego while a drug is in development.” Post-approval costs add another $312 million. The 145% increase from their previous estimate, done in 2003, is attributed to the increased complexity of clinical trials and health assessments, not to regulatory delays.

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New drug costs soar to $2.6 billion. Nat Biotechnol 32, 1176 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1038/nbt1214-1176b

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