Switzerland
Why drugs are becoming more expensive to develop
Drug development has always been expensive and risky, but now it’s measurably more so than a decade ago. Here are three reasons why. When it comes to the pharma industry, US President Donald Trump has repeatedly accused European governments of “free-riding” on American spending, arguing that the profits generated from the US market help fund drug research and innovation that benefits the rest of the world. He has also argued that Europe should pay more for innovative medicines. How true are his claims? Swissinfo is breaking down the figures to understand why developing new drugs are getting more expensive and where the innovation really comes from. In 2024, the average cost of developing a new drug, from discovery to launch, reached $2.23 billion (CHF1.8 billion) for the world’s 20 biggest biopharma companies – a 65% jump from 2014, or around 25% once inflation is taken into account. The figure, published in Deloitte’s 2025 annual report on biopharma innovation, is calculated by ...
