US pharmaceutical companies: Better to advertise than to research
The U.S. pharmaceutical industry spends nearly twice as much on advertising as it does on research. In 2004, companies spent 57.5 billion dollars on advertising, while research and development expenditures totaled 31.5 billion dollars.
The American pharmaceutical industry spends almost twice as much money on advertising as on research. In 2004, companies spent 57.5 billion dollars on advertising, while research and development expenditure amounted to 31.5 billion dollars. These figures emerge from a study by York University in Toronto, Canada. The results confirm the public impression that the pharmaceutical industry is marketing-heavy, the authors of the study write in a specialist journal. The pharmaceutical companies' advertising campaigns included the distribution of free product samples, advertisements, letters and emails, visits to doctors and seminars promoting the use of a new drug.
