BIG PHARMA SAYS NEW DRUG COSTS $1.3 BILLION, BUT REALLY LESS THAN $125 MILLION
GlaxoSmithKline chief executive officer Andrew Witty said the pharmaceutical industry’s estimate of $1+ billion in average cost to develop a drug is “one of the great myths of the industry,” according to Reuters March 15, 2013. Cost to discover new drugs is about 15% of what is estimated and 1.3% of revenues after deducting taxpayer subsidies.