The Pharmaceutical Industry in Figures

June 14, 2010
EFPIA's annual report on the pharmaceutical industry in figures is now available, a 40-page, chart-filled conglomeration of data on the industry within the EU and how it compares to the global drug industry. After a thorough scan, here are some of the more interesting tidbits:
EFPIA's annual report on the pharmaceutical industry in figures is now available, a 40-page, chart-filled conglomeration of data on the industry within the EU and how it compares to the global drug industry. After a thorough scan, here are some of the more interesting tidbits:
  • Pharma and biotech represent 17% of total EU business R&D investment, yet just 3.5% of total EU manufacturing value-added (p. 1).
  • Total pharma R&D expenditures in the EU and U.S. dipped in 2009, a result of the global economic slump. The U.S. remains ahead of the EU in terms of such expenditures (p. 2).
  • Drug industry growth in emerging markets (including Asia, Africa, and Latin America) is roughly twice what it is in the EU and U.S. (p. 3).
  • The U.S. continues to be the "leading discoverer of new molecules" in the world, though as the report points out the number of NME's approved compared to those in development continues to be miniscule regardless of geography (p. 10).
  • The U.S. biotech industry represents approximately 75% of the entire global biotech industry, with the EU at less than 20% (p. 12)
  • The EU remains the vaccine hub, with approximately 90% of all global vaccine production originating from European manufacturers. Approximately half of all vaccine sales are in North America (p. 13).
  • Patients in the EU pay roughly 18% of the tab for drug costs; in the Netherlands, however, patients pay only 0.7% of their medicine costs (p. 25).

--Paul Thomas

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