Drug profits fall despite rising sales - FT.com

the PPRS report also shows that not a single drug company has taken advantage of new rules championed by Sir Andrew and introduced three years ago allowing price increases if new medicines prove more effective than initially believed. That implies disappointing levels of innovation.

On collective sales of drugs totalling £7.7bn in 2009, the PPRS report showed 34 companies reported costs of £7.9bn, representing a return on sales of -1.8 per cent. That was down on profits of £123m in 2008 and of £149m in 2007. The figures include a rise in research and development costs of £1.3bn in 2009, up from £1bn in the previous year.

The final figures accepted by the Department of Health, recalculated from company returns to exclude profits from “transfer pricing” on medicines they purchased from their foreign subsidiaries, show profits of £1.4bn for 2009, representing a return on sales of 18.3 per cent.

via ft.com

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