Pharmaceutical organizations place high importance on the speed and quality of the drug discovery pipeline. It can take from six to 12 years and nearly $3 billion dollars to conduct all the steps necessary—from research and testing to clinical trials and regulatory approvals—to bring a new drug or vaccine to market. Once a new product goes to market, pharmaceutical companies have a small window of opportunity to recoup development costs before their patent expires. Adding to the challenge, the cost to produce drugs has remained static in recent years, leading to a considerable reduction in profitability.
