How much do the public sector and the private sector contribute to biopharmaceutical R&D?

When examining the prices of new medicines, the question of how much the private and public sectors have contributed to their R&D is often raised. Contributions can be assessed in terms of the investment, authorship of publications, marketing authorizations and intellectual property rights associated with biopharmaceutical R&D. This review of the empirical evidence underlines the complementary and interwoven nature of the private and public sectors in supporting biopharmaceutical R&D. Both sectors invest in and contribute to biopharmaceutical R&D, with the public sector predominantly focusing on basic research and the private sector mainly targeting medicine discovery and development. Public sector investment generates additional private-sector investment.

Automated summary

This article examines the contributions of the private and public sectors to the research and development of new medicines, emphasizing the complementary and interwoven nature of both sectors in biopharmaceutical R&D.