How Much Does It Cost to Develop New Drugs?

Glenn Tillotson, PhD, FIDSA, consultant microbiologist in Durham, NC, discusses the costs of drug development.

Interview Transcript (modified slightly for readability):

“The costs of drug development obviously have escalated in the last 10-20 years. There is a group at Tufts University in Boston that undertake a fairly regular evaluation of the drug development process and the different components, including what the costs and timelines are for those different stages. I think it was in 2015 that a Tufts group published a report that said nowadays a drug—and I’m speaking holistically—will cost about $2.5 billion to an organization to develop and get approved and taken to the clinic. $2.5 billion.”