When It Comes To Pharma R&D ROI, Mid Pharma Companies Outperform

Mid Pharma companies, defined by Datamonitor Healthcare as those with annual revenues of less than $10 billion, have done a much better job than their Big Pharma and Japan Pharma peers at launching new drugs. Based on an analysis of new product launches between 2011 and 2015, a group of successful blockbuster products on the market – including Gilead Sciences Inc.'s Sovaldi (sofosbuvir) and Harvoni (sofosbuvir/ledipasvir), and Biogen Inc.'s Tecfidera (dimethyl fumarate) – have helped to contribute to an average $6 billion for Mid Pharma companies collectively in aggregate commercial sales for the first seven years of new product launches, including both actual and forecasted sales. In comparison, the Big Pharma peer set realized an average $4 billion, and Japan Pharma, $2 billion. (Also see "Pharma R&D Efficiency: Mid-Sized Companies Excel" - In Vivo, 29 August, 2016.)

However, reviewing aggregated historical and forecasted sales only paints part of the picture when evaluating R&D productivity. To take it...