Council for American Medical Innovation

It can take 10 to 15 years to develop a new medicine from discovery to market. For every new drug that makes it onto pharmacists’ shelves, thousands of compounds that enter the research and development (R&D) pipeline do not make the final cut. A successful drug can cost between $800 million and an astonishing $1 billion to develop.

But with each study, we learn more. Advances in computational power, genetic research and the study of genomics protein structures and functions (proteomics), present new ways to understand illness. The task of discovering and developing safe and effective drugs is even more promising as we learn more about the diseases we face, and every study – no matter the outcome – contributes to our body of knowledge about what works and for whom.

To be successful requires immense resources: the best scientific minds, highly sophisticated technology and complex project management. It also takes persistence and, sometimes, luck. Ultimately, though, the process of drug discovery brings hope and relief to millions of patients.