It takes on average over 10 years to bring a new drug to market. As of 2014, according to Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development (CSDD), the cost of developing a new prescription drug that gains market approval is approximately $2.6 billion. This is 145% increase, correcting for inflation, comparing to the same report made in 2003.

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The pharmaceutical industry is in a terminal decline, with return on investment (ROI) projected to hit zero by 2020. The returns on new drugs that do get to market do not justify the massive investments that Pharma currently puts into R&D anymore.