Facing patent cliffs, drug developers are aggressively changing the way they do R&D, says Tufts

With dozens of prescription drugs due to lose their patent protection over the next several years, and few likely blockbusters in company pipelines to replace declining revenue, pharmaceutical companies are aggressively changing the way they do R&D, according to the Tufts Center for the Study of Drug Development.

Noting that developers are looking to reduce development time, cut costs, and improve operating efficiency, Tufts CSDD Director Kenneth Kaitin said: "The research-based drug industry, in the United States and globally, is not sitting still, but the question remains whether developers can bring enough new drugs to market at the pace needed to remain financially viable." He made his comments in connection with the release of the Tufts Center's Outlook 2011 report on pharmaceutical and biopharmaceutical trends.

Development cost of a new drug now $1.3 billion