Pharma R&D: Doing the Same Thing That Didn't Work Before

New data from Credit Suisse and Booz & Co. show that drug research is less novel and even more insular than it was in 2000, with lower percentages of novel targets and biologics in its pipeline. Moreover, Big Pharma has generally licensed less than it should. Nor has Big Pharma been particularly aggressive in copying Big Biotech's focus on developing a robust understanding of underlying disease biology-and reaping Big Biotech's higher approval rates. The cure: companies can significantly improve their odds of success through new approaches outside R&D (with payors, for example) and new capabilities in target selection and validation.