Here are six more numbers and statistics to know about medical and health R&D spend. Data are drawn from a research report by Research!America, an alliance supporting health research and discovery.
1. In 2015, total investment in medical and health R&D was $158.7 billion.
2. Although R&D investment is growing, it is still just a fraction (4.93 percent in 2015) of total U.S. healthcare spending. Total U.S. health spending last year exceeded $3.2 trillion.
3. The healthcare private sector invested more than any other sector, at $102.7 billion. That accounts for close to 65 percent of all R&D expenditure in 2015. Federal agencies invested a total of $35.9 billion, research institutions (including universities) invested more than $12.5 billion, foundations invested $4.7 billion and voluntary health associations, professional societies and local and state governments invested close to $3 billion.
4. While private sector investments accounted for the majority of R&D in 2015, growth in this sector was half of what it was from 2013 to 2014.
5. Within industry investments, pharmaceutical companies spent the most on R&D in 2015 at $72.1 billion, up 6.9 percent from 2014. Biotechnology companies also upped their R&D investments by 7.5 percent to $6.1 billion. However, medical technology investments fell 4.5 percent from $18.2 billion to $17.4 billion.
6. The report indicates Americans support R&D. Sixty-two percent of Americans would be willing to pay an additional $1 per week in taxes to boost U.S. investment in health research, according to the report.
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