Brand Pharma Spends More On Stock Buybacks And Marketing Than R&D
A report from Accountable, a nonpartisan watchdog group, found that brand drug makers spent more on stock buybacks, marketing, and other related spending than on research and development (R&D). Accountable said the companies spent $95.9 billion on R&D expenditures in 2023, but spent 70% more on stock buybacks, dividends, and marketing and administrative costs. It also found that the companies spent nearly $500 million collectively on executive and board compensation, at least $83.2 million on trade association dues, $10.6 million on political contributions and $57.8 million on lobbying. This is consistent with a report from Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, and Democrats on the Senate HELP Committee.
Accountable argues that these are areas that spending could be reduced to offset any potential impact on margins and a commensurate reduction in R&D due to Medicare drug price negotiations.
As they always do, the drug maker lobby said information got cherry picked. It is always someone else’s fault that America has disproprtionately high drug prices.
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