According to a new study by Canada’s Patented Medicine Price Review Board (PMPRB), brand-name drug companies are spending a record low on research and development.
The PMPRB’s most recent annual reports show that Canada’s research-based pharmaceutical companies spent only 5.4 per cent of total Canadian revenues on research and development in 2013, the lowest it has been since 1988 when the PMPRB began tracking spending.
“In Canada, market monopolies for brand-name drug companies have increased no fewer than eight times since 1987, yet investments have declined to record lows,” said Jim Keon, president of the Canadian Generic Pharmaceutical Association, in a press release. “This new data provides further proof that no link exists between longer marketing monopolies for brand-name drug companies and increased domestic investments.”
The study can be found in a report called The Real Story: R&D Spending by Brand Name Drug Companies in Canada: 1988 – 2013, which is available at www.canadiangenerics.ca.
