Drug Discovery And Development

Innovative prescription medicines and treatments are saving lives and giving patients new hope for a healthier future. Learn about how innovative research by America’s biopharmaceutical companies is giving patients better healthcare choices.

From laboratory to pharmacy shelf: Only one of every 10,000 potential medicines investigated by America's research-based pharmaceutical companies makes it through the research and development pipeline and is approved for patient use by the Food and Drug Administration. Winning approval, on average, takes 15 years of R&D and costs more than $1 billion. Potential new medicines pass through several crucial stages on their way from research laboratories to the pharmacy shelf.

Drug discovery: Innovative new medicines and treatment don't just happen. Scientific knowledge of disease and potential treatments is growing rapidly. Scientists today are tackling more complex diseases than ever before.

Pre-clinical testing: Once researchers identify a potential new treatment in the laboratory, years of testing begin.

Clinical trials: In order to determine whether a potential medicine can safely and effectively treat a targeted disease, teams of physicians carry out a series of clinical trials.

Approval review: Once a potential medicine is shown to be both a safe and effective treatment, the FDA reviews all of the studies and trials in order to determine whether a medicine can be approved for patient use.

Research and development pipeline: Read a more in-depth breakdown of the R&D pipeline as potential new medicines pass through several crucial stages on their way from research laboratories to the pharmacy shelf.

Transforming patient care and improving quality of life: Find out how innovative new medicines make it possible to prevent or slow the progress of many diseases and avoid costly hospitalization and invasive surgery.