Dr. Kieran Harkin:

The UN high-level panel addressed the issue of how much it costs to produce a drug. There are a number of sources. Part of the problem is the lack of transparency. The industry is intentionally refusing to publish the detail, which it says is because of commercial sensitivity. Having said that, there are a range of estimates from $150,000, which involved one of the smaller drugs. It depends on the kind of drug one is trying to produce. The latest figure was reportedly $4 billion, which was quoted by Forbes. This was a figure produced by the industry itself. Few people outside the industry would agree with the figure of $4 billion but would say it is closer to about $2 billion. The estimate is that in or around $2 billion will fund a pretty good drug.