This study analyses 1400 research projects of the top 20 R&D-spending pharmaceuticals to identify the determinants of successful research projects. We provide clear evidence that externally sourced projects and projects involving biotechnologies perform better than internal projects and chemical...

The current patent system is muddied with manifest muck. Even those that revere its relevance for R&D intensive sectors such as pharmaceutical drugs, admit of its various failings, particularly when it comes to incentivising research into neglected diseases. A number of alternative innovation...

This article, written for the forthcoming Handbook of the Economics of Technical Change, surveys the costs, risks, and challenges encountered in the discovery and development of superior new pharmaceuticals. The changing methods by which drugs are discovered, the links between companies and...

The pharmaceutical industry is in a dire situation: R&D still produces no more drugs than 10 years ago, while costs have quadrupled in the meantime. Little advances have been made in innovation efficiency. Worse yet, drug development times are unacceptably long, possible drug development targets...