The Economist reports that rates of return are low for American pharmaceutical companies:
Given the rapid pace of scientific advances in medicine, you might think Big Pharma is in rude health. You would be wrong. Last year consultants at Deloitte estimated that returns on investment among the biggest American drugmakers fell to 3.2% from 10.1% in 2010 (see chart). Many observers blame the rising cost of bringing new drugs to market. It now costs an average of $2bn to develop a new drug, up from $1.2bn in 2010.
