Drug development cost more than doubles to $2.56 billion

It costs drugmakers $2.56 billion to bring a new medicine to market, on average, more than double the price of 11 years ago, according to a study released today. The higher cost comes from clinical trials that are larger and more complex, as well as more drugs that fail in development, according to the researchers. “Drug development remains a costly undertaking despite ongoing efforts across the full spectrum of pharmaceutical and biotech companies to rein in growing R&D costs,” Joseph DiMasi, director of economic analysis at the Boston-based center, said in a statement.