Big Pharma's big problem contd.

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The FDA approved only 17 new drugs last year, matching the lowest number of newly approved compounds since the peak of 53 approvals a decade ago.

The latest figures mean the FDA has approved only 37 drugs in the two years since the 2004 withdrawal of Vioxx.

That compares with 36 approvals the year Merck pulled the painkiller from the market and an average of 28 new drug approvals annually in the years before Vioxx.

"The industry is still suffering from very significant pipeline problems. The short-term future does not look tremendously promising for the pharma industry," said Kenneth Kaitin, director of Tufts University's Center for the Study of Drug Development.

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