Big Pharma, little science?

Abstract

There is a widespread perception that pharmaceutical R&D is facing a productivity crisis characterised by stagnation in the numbers of new drug approvals in the face of increasing R&D costs. This study explores pharmaceutical R&D dynamics by examining the publication activities of all R&D laboratories of the major European and US pharmaceutical firms during the period 1995-2009. The empirical findings present an industry in transformation. In the first place, we observe a decline of the total number of publications by large firms. Second, we show a relative increase of their external collaborations suggesting a tendency to outsource, and a diversification of the disciplinary base, in particular towards computation, health services and more clinical approaches. Also evident is a more pronounced decline in publications by both R&D laboratories located in Europe and by firms with European headquarters. Finally, while publications by Big Pharma in emerging economies sharply increase, they remain extremely low compared with those in developed countries. In summary, the trend in this transformation is one of a gradual decrease in internal research efforts and increasing reliance on external research. These empirical insights support the view that large pharmaceutical firms are increasingly becoming 'networks integrators' rather than the prime locus of drug discovery.Keywords: Pharmaceuticals, bibliometrics, outsourcing, Europe, globalisation, research network, innovation, collaboration Highlights  We analyse the publications by R&D laboratories of the top 15 pharmaceutical firms.  We observe a slow decline in their total number of publications and field share.  A more pronounced decline in publications by R&D laboratories located in Europe.  There is more external collaboration and research in non-traditional disciplines.  The results suggest that Big Pharma firms are increasingly network integrators.

Measuring the Efficiency of U.S. Pharmaceutical Companies Based on Open Innovation Types

“…According to the analysis, the efficiency of the outside-in group, which comprises many large pharmaceutical companies, has been steadily declining. In fact, researchers [5,7,19,20] have been concerned with the ongoing crisis in this industry and the lack of efficiency improvement, which have yet to be solved.…”

“…In the United States, the blockbuster patents of large US pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Gilead Science, and many others, have expired. Large pharmaceutical companies are guaranteed massive profits based on such patents, but, when they expire, they are forced to compete with generic drugs that may be one-tenth of the price [5]. This leads to fierce competition with generics, along with gradually declining sales.…”

“…As the pharmaceutical industry is characterized by (1) high-levels of knowledge [4], (2) high-costs and long-term research and development (R&D), and (3) high-risk and high-returns. The survival of the industry depends on its R&D efficiency [5]. However, R&D efficiency in this industry is gradually declining [6,7] although companies have made various efforts to increase efficiency by reducing investment cost and increasing profit.…”

“…Specifically, efficiency measurement studies argued that (1) there is a positive correlation between stock price and individual firm's efficiency [15], (2) there is still inefficiency in the industry [16], and (3) there is the need to reward technology [17] to achieve innovation increases efficiency. After 2010, as R&D productivity decline becomes an issue in this industry, there have been studies to identify the cause [5,18], confirming whether M&A have increased productivity [19][20][21]. Industry experts affirm that The implementation of open innovation (OI) methods in pharmaceutical R&D is no longer a philosophical problem of 'whether to do it' instead of a logistical problem of 'how to do it' [22].…”

Bioactive Coumarins and Xanthones From Calophyllum Genus and Analysis of Their Druglikeness and Toxicological Properties

“…Several authors have stated that the pharmaceutical industry is facing a productivity crisis, as there is stagnancy in the number of new drug approvals and an increasing expenditure in the research and development processes [1]. Among the several strategies depicted to solve this problem, natural products have been proposed as molecules that could effectively be introduced into the pharmaceutical market [2].…”