3 ms·

That is around 90 Billion dollars. I'm not sure where you got that number exactly, but phrma member companies list their combined 2016 R&D expenditures at 65.3

by pg_bot 8y ago

That is around 90 Billion dollars. I'm not sure where you got that number exactly, but phrma member companies list their combined 2016 R&D expenditures at 65.3 billion[0] so it seems plausible. For context that is around the GDP of Slovakia or Sri Lanka. (65th and 66th biggest world economies)[1] [0] https://www.phrma.org/press-release/randd-investment-by-u-s-biopharmaceutical-companies-remains-strong-despite-ongoing-economic-challenges https://www.phrma.org/press-release/randd-investment-by-u-s-... [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nominal) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_(nomi...

mikeash 8y ago
I don’t understand how comparing it to the GDP of small foreign countries adds context. The important context is what I stated: it’s about $300 per person. That means that it’s a very small portion of our ~$10,000/year per capita health care expenditures. Anyone who knows how much their health insurance costs per year can immediately see how much of that funds their share of pharma R&D. The answer will almost always be “not very much.”
- rayiner 8y ago
  Pharmaceutical expenditures are about $1,000 per capita. Turning $1,000 of revenue into $300 in R&D compares very favorably to other tech industries.
  - kirubakaran 8y ago
    According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea... it is close to $10k, not $1k.
    - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
      That is total healthcare expenditures including things like doctor/nurse/lab tech salaries, medical devices, administrative overhead, etc. The amount spent on pharma is ~$1K per capita.
  - mikeash 8y ago
    I’m not sure how that’s related. My point is that pharma R&D is not a significant cause of high insurance premiums or high health care costs in general.
    - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
      > My point is that pharma R&D is not a significant cause of high insurance premiums or high health care costs in general. It's the same issue across the industry. There are patents on medical devices, diagnostic tests, imaging equipment, etc. It's a major source of costs. And nobody is claiming that it's the only one.
      - mikeash 8y ago
        Pharma R&D itself is not a major source of costs. It’s around 2-3%. Sure, you could potentially make an improvement there, but its role in our massive health care costs is vastly overstated.

by pg_bot 8y ago

mikeash 8y ago

I don’t understand how comparing it to the GDP of small foreign countries adds context. The important context is what I stated: it’s about $300 per person. That means that it’s a very small portion of our ~$10,000/year per capita health care expenditures. Anyone who knows how much their health insurance costs per year can immediately see how much of that funds their share of pharma R&D. The answer will almost always be “not very much.”

rayiner 8y ago
Pharmaceutical expenditures are about $1,000 per capita. Turning $1,000 of revenue into $300 in R&D compares very favorably to other tech industries.
- kirubakaran 8y ago
  According to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_health_expenditure_per_capita https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_total_hea... it is close to $10k, not $1k.
  - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
    That is total healthcare expenditures including things like doctor/nurse/lab tech salaries, medical devices, administrative overhead, etc. The amount spent on pharma is ~$1K per capita.
- mikeash 8y ago
  I’m not sure how that’s related. My point is that pharma R&D is not a significant cause of high insurance premiums or high health care costs in general.
  - AnthonyMouse 8y ago
    > My point is that pharma R&D is not a significant cause of high insurance premiums or high health care costs in general. It's the same issue across the industry. There are patents on medical devices, diagnostic tests, imaging equipment, etc. It's a major source of costs. And nobody is claiming that it's the only one.
    - mikeash 8y ago
      Pharma R&D itself is not a major source of costs. It’s around 2-3%. Sure, you could potentially make an improvement there, but its role in our massive health care costs is vastly overstated.