Measuring the return from pharmaceutical innovation 2021

This report presents an analysis of the current state of research and development (R&D) returns for 15 leading biopharmaceutical companies during the period of May 2019 to April 2020, as well as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their R&D pipelines during 2020. Furthermore, the report aims to identify lessons that can help shift the R&D paradigm towards higher returns in the future. Our annual series of reports, titled "Measuring the return from pharmaceutical innovation," has provided insights into the state of biopharmaceutical R&D since 2010. Over time, we have expanded our analysis to include the top 20 pharmaceutical companies by R&D spending. This year's analysis indicates that the significant change we anticipated in our 2021 report, "Nurturing growth," has yet to materialize. In addition to examining the R&D returns of 20 leading biopharma companies, this report also explores their pipeline composition and sources of innovation.